Alola, Galar!
by Paulzies
Summary: Being Champion just wasn't his thing. That was why he left Alola. He'd always been an adventurer at heart, and now he was taking his first few steps in what felt like a completely different world. But he wasn't alone. He had his team with him.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For all my fellow Trainers that are spaghetti-upsetti about the incomplete Pokedex in Sword and Shield, the lack of Mega-Evolutions and Z-Moves, this fic's for you.**

**Prologue**

He wondered if Hau had forgiven him yet.

He never intended to hurt him.

He thought Hau would be happy being Champion.

But even now, months since he'd last seen his best friend—and he was reluctantly forced to wonder if that still held true—the look of betrayal on Hau's face continued to haunt him.

_The smile melts. Thick eyebrows scrunch together, like Caterpies worming on his forehead, and Hau's lips twist into a frown._

_Hau's face, which has always been tan, darkens several shades, and he can't help but take a step back when the new Champion of Alola glares at him._

"_You…you lost on purpose, didn't you?"_

_He gulps. _

_The six Pokeballs on his belt, holding his fainted team, feel like they suddenly weigh a ton each. He's tempted to lie. But he has a feeling that things will only become worse if he does._

"_Being Champion was always your dream, Hau," he says. "It's your turn."_

_Hau's hands ball into tight fists._

_Incineroar, Hau's partner, looks nervously at his trainer. He still remembers the day when he received Primarina—back then, she was still a Popplio—and Hau, clueless about the type advantages, had proudly proclaimed that Litten, being Fire-type, was the strongest._

_His lips twitch when he recalls his first victorious Pokemon battle. It was also Hau's first loss._

"_Forty-two times," Hau says with a trembling voice. "That's the number of times we've battled before today. FORTY-TWO TIMES!"_

_That's a lot, he realizes. But he hasn't been keeping count._

"_I've lost every single one of them."_

"_You won this one," he says softly._

"_Did I?" Hau sneers._

_He's taken aback by the venom in his rival-slash-friend's voice._

"_Do you honestly think that I have no chance of ever beating you in a fair fight? Is that why you let me win? Because you PITY me?"_

_It isn't pity. It's acknowledgement. Hau's been training hard. He knows about the late nights in the gyms, the hours spent in the libraries, the heated sessions with the Kahunas and the Elite Four. Hau deserves to be Champion._

_He tries to tell this to him, but what comes out of his mouth is something completely different._

"_I let you win because I don't want to be Champion anymore."_

_Hau looks as if he's been slapped._

_He doesn't know why he said it. But it's true, anyway. The experiences with Necrozma and the Ultra Beasts made him realize something. He doesn't like being Champion. Not with all the expectations and responsibilities that come with the title of being The Strongest. _

_He just wants a fresh start._

_He wanted to explore again. To see new Pokemon and meet new people. To venture into the unknown. To go on another adventure. The Champion's throne had only chained him down, shackled him, and every time he saw reports and infographics about the other regions, a sense of longing to break free from Alola would always emerge._

"_You're the only one I trust to take my place, Hau," he says. "While I'm gone."_

_He sees Hau bite his lips._

_That's one reason why he's always liked him; Hau always wore his emotions openly._

_He could see the inner conflict in his rival as clear as day._

"_I'm not as strong as a Trainer as you, though," Hau says, looking down. _

_He has a strong feeling that the anger he hears isn't directed at him._

_He smiles. "You don't have to be the strongest Trainer to be Champion. You just need to be strong enough."_

"_Am I though?"_

"_Yes."_

"_It sounds as if you're just trying to comfort me."_

"_That's because I am," he says, "but that doesn't make it any less true."_

_Hau sighs. What little anger that remained leaves his body with that small exhalation. That's another reason why he likes Hau. He never stays angry for long._

"_You're really leaving?" Hau asks._

_He nods._

"_Where are you going?"_

_He pauses. "I haven't decided yet. Somewhere far away, probably."_

"_Will you come back?"_

"_Of course."_

_That seems to raise Hau's spirits._

_His friend straightens. "Then it's not over yet." Hau levels a finger at him. "I refuse to accept this win."_

_He expected this._

"_But you accept the role of Champion?" he asks._

"_Just until you come back," Hau says, grudgingly. "We'll have a rematch. And next time, I'll show you that I don't need your pity."_

"_Thank you, Hau."_

"_You better come back, Elio."_

He knew he'd chosen correctly when he stepped off the boat and nobody paid a second glance to him. Here, he wasn't Elio, Champion of the Alola Region.

In Galar, he was just an ordinary Pokemon Trainer.

And he was ready to start his new adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One:**

The ferry had brought him to the port city of Hulbury.

It reminded him a little of Konikoni City, especially with the lighthouse that stood markedly near the outskirt of town. But unlike Konikoni, Hulbury was built on a hill, and terraced houses lined the streets that winded up its slopes. And at the base of the it, a giant blue dome was seated, its support pillars giving it the look of a very large spider that sparkled with decorative lights.

So this was one of Galar's famous Gym stadiums.

He'd read, on the pamphlets in the ferry, that Galar—like all the other regions—had Gyms. He remembered Kanto's gyms. They were small buildings, no bigger than a school gymnasium, nothing like the massive stadium before him, and he wondered just how different it was from Alola's unique Island Trials system.

The symbol above the entrance, shaped like a water droplet, caught his eye. So this was the Water-type Gym?

Ninetails, with Freeze-dry, would be doing most of the work, then.

He paused. Was it right for him to use his team in the first place? They were powerful, well-trained, worthy of the title of champions. It wouldn't be right to use them for a Gym challenge, would it?

In the first place…wasn't he here because he wanted to start a new adventure?

He'd get to know the new Pokemon here, make a new team, and see how things went.

That was the joy exploring—he loved venturing into the unknown.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Despite the hustle and bustle in the market, the scream for help was extremely clear to him.

He dropped his dinner, weaved through the throngs of shoppers, and ran towards the harbor where the scream had come from.

A small crowd had gathered at the railings, pointing towards the open sea.

He followed their fingers.

At first he did not know what he was supposed to be looking at. Then he saw the arm break through the surface of the water, flailing desperately, before being immediately swallowed by the sweeping waves again. Cries of alarm rippled through the crowd.

"His boat overturned!"

"He's going to drown!"

He could see a group of men in sailor uniforms working to unmoor a speedboat tied to the docks.

They would not make it in time.

He unlatched a Pokeball from his belt. Keeping it close to his body, he clicked the release button.

"_Go_."

A flash of red light and the sound of a released Pokeball later, an orange blur shot to the sky.

It had not gone unnoticed.

"That's a Charizard!"

"The Champion! He's here!"

For a moment, he was confused when the crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief. How did they know?

"Thank goodness, Leon's here! I'd recognize that Charizard anywhere! He'll save the day, I'm sure of it."

He frowned. Were they thinking of someone else?

Charizard roared.

The sea was rough today. The waves were as tall as a man and combing through the sea at a worrying pace. The man would be swept away soon.

If he didn't drown first.

"There!"

He saw the hand shoot into the air again, waving frantically. This time it was accompanied by a head. It was too far away, and it only surfaced for a brief instant before the man was pulled back down.

His gaze drifted to a nearby sign.

_Dangerous currents. Do not swim._

Too late.

But Charizard had seen the man as well, and the winged lizard dived down, hurtling down towards the earth like a comet. And orange streak was drawn through the air, and the subsequent splash created a plume of water as tall as a house.

The crowd fell silent.

A few seconds later, when nothing happened, a tiny knot of worry formed in his chest.

Charizards…were not aquatic creatures. And even if he had trained his to be particularly sturdy against water attacks, he hadn't actually taught it to swim. Its powerful muscles and great wings might not be enough to fight against the unseen and unyielding currents of the deep.

He rubbed the Keystone in his Mega-Ring nervously. Maybe he should have Mega-Evolved it.

But he believed in it. Charizard would never let him down, and it was the only one in his party that could have traversed the great distance of water to save the drowning man quick enough.

The crowd gasped when it burst out of the sea, its leathery wings unfurled and spanned out to their majestic lengths. The gasps turned into cheers when they saw the man hanging by his collar, which was locked in the maws of his savior.

He smiled.

Attaboy.

His Pokemon's return was graceful. Careful, even, with clawed arms supporting the man like a princess.

Great wings beat the air down towards the crowd and they parted, forming a giant clearing in front of him. Very quickly, he was walled in by the ever-increasing number of awed and fascinated onlookers.

Wet, but otherwise no worse for wear, Charizard descended onto the ground, the flame on its tail burning as brightly as ever. Like a mother cat carrying its kitten, it released its toothed grip on the man's shirt and gently laid him down.

When the man coughed, people whooped with joy.

Charizard roared deafeningly, and slightly startled, the crowd faltered and took several steps back.

It was only him and Charizard now.

It lumbered towards him, baring its teeth. He had to look up to meet the towering Pokemon's lizard-like eyes.

"Sorry for making you go into the water," he said sheepishly.

Charizard grunted.

"I'll make it up to you."

He'd already prepared Charizard's reward. From his pocket, he pulled out a Rainbow Bean.

The Pokemon's eyes lit up excitedly, and it lowered its snout all the way down to his outstretched hand and sniffed the multi-colored snack several times.

It looked up to him expectantly.

"Don't forget to chew," he reminded.

The Rainbow Bean vanished into draconian jaws, and within seconds, Charizard swallowed and let out a satisfied huff.

"Good boy," he said, tiptoeing and stroking its snout.

It nuzzled itself into his palm. Its warm breath tickled his fingers.

Only when he returned Charizard into its Pokeball did he realize just how silent the entire town had become. Even the man he had rescued was now sitting up and staring at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

A lone voice shattered the silence.

"Make way!"

A pair of brown arms sliced through the crowds and a woman broke through the human wall to stare him down.

"Leon!" she declared, "fight me! Today's the day…"

She trailed off, her voice weakening and her raised arm deflating.

She blinked at him with eyes that had long and curved lashes, dark blue eyeshadows, and turquoise irises that sparkled like the sea.

She had tanned-colored skin. It wasn't very different from the residents of Alola, who soaked up sunlight every day. Short shorts and a small crop top exposed much of her skin, and the assortment of accessories she wore around her waist and shoulders complemented her toned and lean body. Long, dark blue hair, reminiscent of a waterfall, cascaded down her back.

She was, he couldn't help but admit, very pretty. And judging from the respectful looks she was getting from everyone else, someone important else well.

"You're not Leon," she finally said, after giving him a onceover.

"No," he said, "I am not."

Her gaze turned curious. "Was that your Charizard?"

He nodded.

"I don't recall ever seeing you around before."

"I just arrived," he pointed to the dock that the ferry was still moored at.

"Oh," she said, "a tourist?"

He smiled. "Something like that."

"Where are you from?"

He hesitated.

"Kanto," he said. It wasn't a lie, technically. He'd been born and raised there, even if he had only started his Pokemon journey for real when he'd moved to Alola.

"Ah," she nodded in understanding. "No wonder the Charizard."

She stepped forward and offered a hand.

"I'm Nessa," she said. "I'm Hulbury's Gym Leader."

He stared at Nessa's long and slender fingers. Then he stretched out and shook hands.

"Elios," was all he said in return.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Nessa said it was her duty as Gym Leader to thank him for saving one her residents, and so she offered to treat him to a meal at the town's top seafood restaurant.

His stomach had grumbled in agreement, and only briefly he had mourned the wastage of the half-eaten sandwich he'd dropped in his haste to save the drowning man.

"You're a Trainer, I assume," she said, once they had ordered their food.

"I am." He couldn't deny that, nor did he want to.

"A very good one."

"You flatter me."

"Really?" she said. "I think it's pretty difficult to convince a Charizard to dive into the ocean."

"Not as difficult as becoming a Gym Leader," he pointed out.

"That's true," she laughed.

"They say Gym Leaders are only second to the Elite Four and the Champion."

"We don't have an Elite Four here."

"Oh."

"We're a little different from other regions," she said, apparently amused by his disappointment. "We do have a Champion though. His name's Leon. He hasn't lost a single match since he became Champion."

"He must be a very strong trainer."

"He is," she agreed, almost reluctantly. "I've battled him twelve times and I've lost all twelve of them. And it's even more frustrating because I keep losing to his Charizard."

So that was what the misunderstandings at harbor were about.

Nessa must have mistaken his silence as confusion. "You know, because I specialize in Water Types."

"Ah," he said, pretending to be enlightened. "He wouldn't be a very good Champion if he didn't consider Type disadvantages in his strategy."

"You're right about that," she said with a sigh.

"And you?" she then asked. "Do you want to take part in the Tournament?"

He tilted his head. "Tournament?"

"It's Galar's special version of a Pokemon League. Trainers who've managed to clear the Gym Challenge can enter a tournament to earn the right to challenge the Champion. If they win," she clenched her fists determinedly, "they become the new Champion."

"You look like you want to be Champion quite badly," he remarked.

"Who wouldn't? It's nice to be the strongest."

"Maybe not for everyone," he said softly.

She looked at him curiously. She had a habit of scrunching up her nose slightly when she did that, he noticed.

"You don't want to be strong?" she asked.

"I never said that," he said, "but that's not why I came here anyway. I just wanted to explore the other regions. See other Pokemon—"

"Battle other Trainers," she finished with a sly smile.

He replied with a smile of his own, "if the opportunity arises."

She leaned forward. She smelled like an ocean breeze.

"Say, Elios…do you want to battle _me_?"

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I have a Charizard. I thought you had trouble against them?"

She frowned. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Only a little bit."

"You aren't Leon. You try bringing your Charizard into our fight and I'll wipe the floor with you."

He laughed. He also wouldn't be a very good Champion if he didn't take Type disadvantages into account in his strategies.

"But in all seriousness," Nessa said, "you should take part in the Gym Challenge. You need at least three badges to enter some parts of the Wild Area."

"The Wild Area?"

She nodded. "A large part of Galar's undeveloped. We call it the Wild Area, and Pokemon roam free in it, and some places are more dangerous than the others. Trainers might sometimes be all alone in the Wild Area, so we have that rule in place for safety reasons."

"I see," he said. Alola had something similar, he recalled, though it had been a few years since he'd been a participant in the Island Trials. Becoming Champion had let him go wherever he pleased, and the safety regulations had become somewhat fuzzy to him because of that.

"So?" Nessa said, "how about it? You want to battle?"

His eyes narrowed. "Now?"

She burst into laughter. "Aren't you an eager one?" She shook her head. "No, not now. I'm a busy person, you know? You need to schedule a battle with me. Specifically, through the Gym Challenge."

"I'll think about it."

"Come to the stadium tomorrow. I have a few matches you can watch. I think that'll help you make up your mind. And," she grinned, "if you _do _decide to enter the Gym Challenge, I'll give you my endorsement."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Nessa was down to her last Pokemon.

So was her opponent.

He did not think any less of her because of this. He had learned a long time ago, after being Champion, that the Kahunas and Trial Captains had to lower their strength in battle against challengers. If they used their best Pokemon and strategies from the start…then no one would have ever passed the island trials.

He imagined the same thing applied for Gym Leaders.

Nessa had a Drednaw in front of her. It was his first time seeing the Turtle-like Pokemon. His Rotom-Dex had helpfully informed him that it was Rock and Water Type.

Her opponent, an excited looking man, had a Mudbray in front of him.

The Mudbray's Ground Type would be strong against the Drednaw's Rock, but Drednaw's Water Type gave it the same advantage against its opponent.

It was down to the individual parameters of the Pokemon, then. And the strategies of their Trainers.

He saw Nessa looking into the crowd, raising her arms up repeatedly, trying to rile them up. His eyes met hers. A flash of white told her she'd broken into a smile as the crowd's cheering suddenly climaxed.

The mic attached to her amplified her voice.

"Flood the stadium and make it our ocean! Drednaw, time to Dynamax!"

Dynamax?

His eyes flicked to the monitors, which showed a zoomed-in image of Nessa. A confident grin adorned her face, but what drew his attention was the bracelet on her right hand.

That hadn't been there yesterday.

He narrowed his eyes in concentration when red arcs of energy lashed out from it, whipping through the air angrily and, seemingly, uncontrollably.

She raised her arm and Drednaw was recalled back into the Pokeball that was held within it.

He furrowed his brows in confusion.

They reached his hairline when the Pokeball expanded, almost instantly, as if it were a balloon that had been inflated with a massive blast of air, until it became several times its original size. It looked as if Nessa was holding a giant beach ball.

She lobbed it into the air.

At the peak of its trajectory, it cracked open, and out from the giant Pokeball burst forth a gargantuan Drednaw, this time standing on its two hind legs, and its head, which he had to crane his neck to see, was almost reaching the ceiling of the stadium.

The crowd roared in excited approval. He was almost certain his jaw had dislocated from how low it dropped.

_What in Solgaleo's name is THAT?_

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: As always, do follow/fav if you like this. I really appreciate it, and it goes a long way as encouragement.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please Follow/Fav/Like if you enjoy this! I really like writing this, and it'd be nice to know if you guys enjoyed reading this too. **

**XxXxXxXxX**

**Chapter Two:**

"Right," Nessa said, "you don't have Dynamax-ing in Kanto."

He was fairly certain they didn't have Dynamax-ing anywhere else either.

"So?" she asked excitedly. "What did you think about it? It was your first time seeing it, right?"

They were walking out of the stadium, with more than a few looks directed at them—or Nessa, actually. She had battled three challengers today and she'd beaten two of them, with the last challenger producing a Dynamax-ed Whimsicott that had beaten her Drednaw.

"It's…" he paused, trying to find the right word, "powerful."

Powerful wasn't right, he thought a second later. The boost in power and the Max Moves made the whole thing seem like a ridiculous combination of Z-moves and Mega-Evolutions.

"_Too_ powerful," he amended. Even the Tapus would probably have trouble against a Dynamaxed Pokemon.

He threw a glance at the Dynamax band on Nessa's wrist. The Wishing Star, the shiny rock that glistened in its center, was the source of the strange power. Nessa had said something about warping space, and either she didn't fully understand it herself, or he'd found her explanation so outlandish that he was still trying to comprehend it.

But it did seem to have one drawback though. Something he noticed after the second fight.

"Does it have a time limit?" he asked Nessa, who looked surprised at his question.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Otherwise you would have done it at the very start of the battle, instead of waiting until the very end."

"Interesting observation, Elios."

He shrugged. It was, he believed, important for every Trainer to have good observation skills. Knowledge was half the battle.

"But you're right," Nessa said. "It doesn't last forever. At least, not here."

He looked at her questioningly.

"In the Wild Area, there are a few underground caverns that are extremely saturated with Dynamax Energy. Sometimes, that causes the Pokemon living in them to Dynamax on their own, and they keep feeding off the Dynamax Energy to remain in that form until they're defeated."

"Sounds dangerous," he said.

"It is," she said gravely. She nodded towards a uniformed trainer walking by. "It's part of Leon's job as Champion to take care of the problem, and we have a group of trainers that are supposed to help but…"

She trailed off.

"The Dynamax-ed Pokemon are just that powerful?" he guessed.

"Well let's just say that Leon does most of the work. There's a reason why some parts of the Wild Area are restricted unless you've managed to complete the Gym Challenge."

He frowned. So Galar, and its Champion, had their own share of problems as well. And he thought he'd had it bad when it was raining Ultra Beasts in Alola.

"So taking the Gym Challenge is the only option I have?" he asked. He didn't see the point in exploring Galar if its most exciting places were going to be off-limits to him.

"Yes," Nessa said. "But I'm sure if you show them your Gym Badges from Kanto, they can speed up the process—"

"I'm don't have any Badges from Kanto," he interrupted her, "I wasn't registered as a Trainer."

_At least, not in Kanto._

But he certainly wasn't going to pull out his Alola Trainer Card, which had the word _Champion _written on it.

"Oh," she said.

"You sound disappointed," he noted.

"Well, you said you were a Trainer."

"Bureaucratic paperwork and shiny bits of metal don't define Trainers."

"You're right about that. It's their Pokemon that do." She smiled, "and what I've seen of yours has been most promising so far."

They stopped walking. They were in front of a Pokemon Center.

"So," Nessa asked, turning to him and tilting her head slightly, "what do you say, Elios? Will you let me endorse your Gym Challenge?"

"If you'd be so kind, Nessa."

**XxXxXxXxX**

The Champion of Galar—Leon—he thought, was a little too flashy.

When _he _was Champion, _he_ never wore a furred cape.

Or did flashy poses.

And he certainly never made a dynamic entry by using his Charizard as a hang-glider, jumped off, and then performed a somersault before landing on the ground.

Why there was a monthly ceremony in the town of Motostoke to introduce the new Gym challengers, he could sort of understand, since the various cities of Alola had their own little rituals to wish trial challengers good luck.

He looked around. There were many of them too. The younger ones were probably the same age as him when he'd first started in Melemele island.

No, what he couldn't understand were the uniforms.

He tugged at the itchy, and stiff, material that stuck uncomfortably to his skin.

The fact that it was ugly didn't help either.

"You'll get used to it, kid. Nobody likes the uniform when they first wear it, but in the heat of the battle, you'll forget all about it!"

He looked up. Leon was suddenly in front of him, offering a kind smile at him. The gaudy cape still hung off his shoulders. He had stocky legs, which were wrapped in white tights underneath his shorts.

"Hello," he said to his Galar counterpart. Up close, the man did not give off a very Champion-like aura. Especially not with that rugged and messy beard he sported.

Hau had once said that he was a very cold and aloof Champion, and he imagined that Leon was probably the complete opposite.

Something glinted in his eyes and his posture stiffened.

"You're Elios, aren't you?" he said.

He nodded warily.

"Nessa mentioned you. It's rare for her to endorse a Trainer."

"Ah."

"She said you had a Charizard."

"I do."

Leon raised a palm and held it up.

He looked at it questioningly.

Leon grinned. "We're Charizard buddies!"

Hesitantly, he raised his own hand and did a slow, weak High Five.

"Nessa tells me you're a very talented trainer," Leon said.

He smiled. "She said the same for you."

"You're going to do fine, I'm sure!" Leon said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, my younger brother and his friend are taking part in the Gym Challenge as well. They might be a few years younger than you but they're pretty talented themselves, I'll tell you that! You should meet them. Actually, he should be here somewhere…" he paused and looked around, "hey, Hop! Where are you at?"

And he took that chance, among the crowd of fresh challengers, to slip away.

Leon reminded him painfully of Hau.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The easiest way to do things would have been for him to use his team to clear the Gym Challenge, gain access to the entirety of the Wild Area, and then explore everything at his own pace.

He did not know how strong Leon was, but he had no intention of ever battling the man. Naturally, he saw no point in taking part in the Tournament at the end of the season, either.

He had full faith in his team—they would win, even if they were going to be up against Dynamax-ed Pokemon.

Charizard.

Garchomp.

Ninetails.

Tyrannitar.

Aegislash.

Toxapex.

They could take on anything from Galar and win.

But that, he had decided from the very start, was not how he wanted to do things.

Which was why he was currently crouched in the bushes, Pokeball in hand, stalking the Rookidee in front of him.

But just because he was going to start things from scratch didn't mean he was going to go in blindly and recklessly. Not after what had happened with Primarina.

His starter might be living happily with his mother now, but he could never forgive himself. He'd almost gotten his very first Pokemon _killed_, and just the mere thought of the gruesome scar plastered across its chest had been enough to make sure he did things the _proper _way this time.

Intelligently.

Patiently.

Carefully.

He'd done his homework. Rookidee would evolve eventually into Corviknight, and just seeing some of them being used as Flying Taxis had confirmed that his decision to make it the first member of his new team had been a smart one.

He had a rough idea as to what other Pokemon he wanted to be in his team, but as he had learned from his experience in Alola, slow and steady wins the race. He'd make sure Rookidee was properly trained before anything else.

The small, bird-like Pokemon paused to peck something at its feet.

He smiled. He'd sprinkled those seeds there earlier.

He threw the Pokeball.

**XxXxXxXxX**

He winced as he took the Pokeball back from the Pokemon Center nurse.

Her smile was painfully patronizing. "I'm sorry that we can't do anything about your arm, sir."

It was something he never understood, even back in Alola. How come Pokemon Centers could heal fainted and wounded Pokemon back to health, but couldn't do anything for humans?

He had the urge to glare at the Pokeball in his hand. A hand which was connected to an arm that was covered in bandages from all the Peck wounds Rookidee had inflicted on him.

He had forgotten how tedious and difficult it was to train a Pokemon from scratch.

He remembered the first time he discovered Garchomp's Rough Skin. It took a few days before he could hold anything in his right hand after that.

There was a reason why he'd caught a Rookidee instead of hunting for a fully-evolved Corviknight; an untamed, enraged Rookidee was painful and irritating; an untamed, enraged Corviknight would be lethal.

It took time for a Pokemon to grow on a Trainer, and he'd rather that time be spent while the Pokemon was in an unevolved, and thus less dangerous, state. He couldn't count the number of reports he'd been forced to read about new Trainers trying to bite off more than they could chew.

It was the number one way that fresh Trainers died.

Thank the Legendaries he'd found Tyrannitar as a Larvitar.

He tossed the Pokeball containing Rookidee up and down in the air as he walked along the dirt paths of Turffield. It was a small, farm-like town. He'd yet to meet its Gym Leader personally, though from what he'd heard from the locals, Milo was an easygoing man.

The strange, giant inscription on the hill next to the town was said to be a tourist attraction, but he couldn't help but feel that nothing he could see in Galar would top the Ruins and the Wormholes he'd been forced to explore in Alola.

When he reached the bridge, he saw a boy, wearing a straw hat and dressed in shorts and a singlet, sitting on its railing, dangling his feet over the river.

The boy turned, and then broke into a large smile that was missing a tooth when their eyes met.

"You look like a strong trainer!"

He did? The Elite Four back in Alola were always complaining that he had a very underwhelming disposition for someone of his station.

Every time someone pointed that out, he'd simply point at Acerola. He still couldn't forgive her for playing that prank on him in Ula'Ula island, and he'd been terrified of that 'haunted' supermarket for a whole year before the girl had told him the truth—that yes, there was a backroom in it.

"Battle me!"

He blinked. "What?" he said.

"Battle me!" the boy said again. "You can't run away, Trainer's honor!"

Oh yes. He remembered this. Back before he became Champion, when everyone he met on the Routes always seemed itching for a fight. After he became Champion though, nobody seemed to want to battle him anymore.

He kind of missed being challenged like this.

The only problem was…

He looked back down at the Pokeball in his hand.

Oh well, at the very least it would be a good learning experience for Rookidee.

"Alright," he said, tossing the Pokeball into the air, "let's battle."

**XxXxXxXxX**

His opponent had sent out a Pokemon he'd never seen before. According to his Pokedex, it was a Scorbunny. Fire Type.

It looked fast, given how it was constantly bouncing on its large feet, leaving little embers on the ground with each small hop.

"Rookidee, use Peck."

It was, he was certain, from the short experience he'd had with the Pokemon, a move Rookidee liked very much. The small bird sitting on the floor glared at him with its red eyes, and then snubbed its head away.

He sighed. It didn't even want to fly and what good was a Flying Type Pokemon if it was going to stick onto the ground like that?

"Hah!" the opposing boy scoffed. "You're Pokemon doesn't even listen to you! Scorbunny, use Ember!"

The white rabbit-like Pokemon hopped side-to-side before spitting out a small jet of fire towards Rookidee, who squawked in panic and flapped its wings desperately to avoid it.

The attack grazed the side of its wing, and his Pokemon let out a pained screech.

"Rookidee," he said, softly, "use Peck."

For the first time, the Pokemon listened to him. Part-bounding, part-flying, it charged forward and launched itself towards the Scorbunny, who dodged just in time for Rookidee's sharp beak to hit nothing but air.

"See?" he said to Rookidee, who had stomped its foot in frustration. "If you'd practiced it like I'd been asking you to, you wouldn't have missed."

It squawked, sounding almost irritated.

"Scorbunny, Ember!"

"Dodge, Rookidee!"

The bird Pokemon jumped away from the attack in time, and then turned back to look at him with big, wide eyes.

"If you listen to me, we can win."

He almost missed it, but he saw Rookidee dip its head.

"Let's do this then."

In the end, Rookidee still had a long way to go. It got overexcited and charged towards the Scorbunny on its own volition. By the time he asked it to stop, it was too late.

An Ember attack from Scorbunny forced it to shield itself with its wings, stopping it in its tracks. The subsequent Tackle sent it flying into the air, and he knew that it was over when Rookidee landed onto the ground next to him with a thud.

Its wings were singed and burnt. Its foot was twisted at an unnatural angle. It whined pitifully, and he couldn't help but feel bad for it when he picked it up and cradled it in his arms. It hadn't fainted yet, but Rookidee was certainly in no shape to continue the battle.

"Yeah!" the boy said triumphantly. "Good job, Scorbunny!"

The opposing Pokemon let out a joyful whoop, bouncing even higher into the air than normal.

"That Rookidee's in no shape to fight. Hurry up and send out your next Pokemon!"

He opened his mouth but then stopped himself. He'd been more than ready to admit defeat, but…

"You sure?" he asked. "They're a little stronger than this one."

"Of course! I'm on a roll here!"

Well then, if the boy wanted to continue, then who was he to decline the challenge?

He threw the next Pokeball.

The Pokemon landed with a heavy, earth-trembling _thump_.

Yellow, predatory eyes tracked its bouncing foe. It let out a threatening snarl from its flat and elongated head, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. From its crouch, it stood on its hind legs to its full height, towering over the Scorbunny, which didn't even reach its thighs.

The Scorbunny stopped bouncing.

Garchomp roared again, swinging its clawed arm, the fin-like appendage attached to it slicing through the air with a _swish_.

"What…what is that?" the boy whimpered out, taking several steps back.

"Have you ever seen a shark?" he asked.

Frightfully, the boy nodded.

"Well, this is a land-shark Pokemon." Though with three fins, bipedal legs, Ground and Dragon Typing, the similarity was only superficial, he thought. "It's called Garchomp. Have you ever heard of it?"

This time, the boy shook his head.

"Ah," he said, "that's because it eats everyone it sees. That's why nobody knows about it."

The boy screamed, scooped Scorbunny up, and then ran away.

He blinked.

"What happened to Trainer's honor?" he mumbled.

Garchomp turned back to face him, looking almost disappointed.

"I guess we scared him off," he said sheepishly. Now he felt a little bad for traumatizing the boy.

Garchomp grunted and nudged its head towards his body.

He looked down. Rookidee had gone completely still, and was staring at Garchomp with wide, unblinking eyes. "Oh this? This is Rookidee. It'll be joining the team."

It made a throaty scoff and stalked up towards him.

"Say hi," he said.

Garchomp leered over Rookidee. He expected the bird to curl up in its arm, or maybe even whimper. But he certainly hadn't expected to see it look almost…admiringly at Garchomp.

Well, it had spirit, at least.

For a few moments, the Pokemon stared at each other silently. Then Garchomp grunted in approval and nudged its head towards his belt, and he took that as his cue to call the Pokemon back into its Pokeball.

Rookidee was looking up to him, almost expectantly.

"What? You want to be as strong as Garchomp one day?"

It chirped excitedly.

"But you lost the battle just now."

It chirped a little less excitedly.

"But I can help you become that strong."

It bounced in his arms.

"But you have to listen to me. We have to work together."

The Pokemon fell silent. Then it nodded.

He smiled. "Welcome to the team then, Rookidee."

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Is it me or is it almost impossible to get a Surprise Trade or join a Raid in the game recently?**

**FYI, I'm going with the Pkmn Let's Go system where you can Mega-evolve Charizard into both X AND Y versions.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3:**

The pebble fit in Elios' palm snugly. It was smooth and flat, the kind of pebble he used to scour the beaches for.

It was rare but occasionally, the seas in Alola were calm enough that he could skip rocks on them. It was a hobby he picked up as Champion, when his duties and the paperwork that came with them was too much, and he needed a break from everything Pokemon-related.

But those days were over.

He hurled the pebble into the sky with all his might and it sailed past Rookidee—missing the squawking bird by an inch.

Elios sighed. "Close."

Dee, as he'd come to call his first Galarian Pokemon by, let out a disappointed coo in the air, bobbing up and down as it did so.

"S-stop that!"

A high-pitched, and timid shout came from behind him.

Turning, he found a girl standing at the edge of the clearing he was in. She looked as if she'd just entered her teens, and was wearing a short skirt and a checkered blouse. Her straight brown hair came to a stop just above her shoulders, and sitting atop her head was a red beret that he recalled seeing in a apparel store somewhere.

When he met her bright green eyes, they widened and her face flushed as she squirmed uncomfortably.

"Stop what?" Elios asked.

She made an attempt to look confident. It was not a very good attempt, since she took a step back.

"You shouldn't throw rocks at Pokemon! They're our friends!"

He blinked.

A misunderstanding, an understandable one, he supposed.

He whistled, and Dee landed on his shoulder and chirped happily.

"I wasn't throwing rocks," he said. "It was catching rocks. Or at least," he added, "it's _trying _to catch them."

Dee let out an indignant squawk.

The girl look confused.

"I was training my Pokemon," he explained. "Rock-catching is a good exercise to improve speed and accuracy."

"Y-you're a Trainer?" she asked, sounding surprised.

He nodded.

"So…you weren't abusing that Rookidee?"

Elios nodded again, and tried very hard to not smile when the girl became very embarrassed, turning as red as her beret while dropping her gaze all the way to her shoes.

Mumbling something he couldn't hear, the girl fidgeted in her spot.

"What?"

"...-me."

"I can't hear you."

"I said...b-battle me."

Elios opened his mouth, but hesitated and reconsidered his response.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

The girl looked uncertain of herself.

He watched with curiosity as she unclipped the sole Pokeball hanging from her belt and held it with both hands. Cupping it, she brought it up to her face and whispered to it.

Then, she gave a firm nod and her grip on the Pokeball tightened.

"Battle me," she said.

He shrugged his shoulders, not as a response, but to prompt Dee, who hopped off his shoulder and landed on the ground.

It tilted its head at him.

"You alright to battle?" Elios asked.

Dee let out a determined chirp.

He turned back to the girl.

"I'm Elios. What's your name?"

"Gloria."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios almost felt bad for Gloria, who was slumped dejectedly on the ground, her Sobble, well, sobbing on her lap.

The Amphibian Pokemon's tears continued to darken her skirt, and Elios sighed.

Dee chirped nervously.

"No," Elios said, "you didn't do anything wrong. You did well, actually. You managed to land a Peck on your first try."

And that one jab of Dee's pointy beak was all it had taken for Sobble to burst into tears and run back to Gloria, who looked as if she was going to start crying at any moment too.

As the more senior Trainer, Elios supposed he couldn't leave things as they were.

Except even the first and former Champion of the Alola region wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this.

"You, erm," he paused when Gloria looked up at him with watery eyes, "you don't battle much, do you?"

She shook her head. "This was my fourth battle."

He kept silent and waited.

"I've lost all four of them," she added dejectedly.

She sniffled, and Elios couldn't help but start drawing parallels between Gloria and her Pokemon. Normally, similar character traits between Trainers and their Pokemon was a good thing, particularly their first Pokemon.

But the sight before him was most definitely not a good sign for Gloria's prospects as a Trainer.

"Perhaps you and Sobble were not meant to..." he stopped himself when Gloria's lips quivered.

He had not meant to be disparaging. There were plenty of people and Pokemon that did not like the competitive and sometimes harsh nature of Pokemon Battling. Gloria and her Sobble, from what he had seen, seemed to fit into that category.

"I have to be a Trainer. I have to be strong," she said, trying to sound confident. To him, she just sounded desperate. "I have to show him I can take care of myself!"

"Him?" he asked.

"My brother, Victor."

"And he is a Trainer as well?"

She nodded. "He was endorsed by Leon, the Champion."

_While I wasn't_, her face said.

He pursed his lips. "Becoming a Trainer isn't easy. People do die. I've seen it happen."

Surprisingly, Gloria only looked more determined. "I know that. But I don't care, I want to be a Trainer."

Elios studied her. Certainly, at first glance, Gloria looked and sounded timid, unsure, and unprepared. But now he was starting to see the streak of stubbornness behind all that—a quality that all the best Trainers he'd met had.

Including himself, of course.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He'd only voiced his opinion out of obligation as a more experienced Trainer. He had no real responsibility over her and—

"Will you teach me?" Gloria asked.

He blinked. "What?"

"Teach me how to be a proper Trainer."

He stared at her incredulously.

Under his gaze, the last of her earlier self-confidence seemed to sputter out of existence. Blushing hard and covering her mouth, Gloria made a noise that made Elios almost burst out in laughter.

"What am I saying?" she chided herself, "I can't just walk up to random Trainers asking them to teach me!"

Then turning back to him, she bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for saying such weird things! Could you...pretend you didn't hear anything?"

He raised an eyebrow. The girl was still bent forward, and he took the chance to grin in amusement.

"Sure," he said, " I can teach you a little bit."

Silence.

When Gloria didn't move or respond, Elios wondered if she'd heard him.

He took a step forward to see if she was okay, but her head ended up smacking into his chin painfully when she stood back up too quickly and he recoiled back.

"Ow," he groaned, as Gloria rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorry!" Gloria said, sounding far more excited than apologetic. "Did you mean it? You'll teach me?"

"I don't mind," he said. "I've never actually taught anyone before."

But being on an adventure meant doing new things.

"That's okay!" Gloria said, "I need all the help I can get. And you sound really smart; you must have already completed your Gym Challenge, right?"

"No."

"Oh. Then how many Badges do you have already?"

"Zero."

Gloria looked at him as if she'd misheard. "Zero?"

He nodded. "Zero."

She raised a finger against him. "But...but that means you're the same as me!"

"No," he said, "I'm better. I just beat you, didn't I?"

Gloria glanced down to her feet, where Sobble had curled up into a small ball, the fin-like appendage on its head droopy as it let out a soft snore.

"Fine," she said. "I guess things won't be as lonely if I follow you around, anyway."

Elios frowned. "How long do you intend on...following me?"

Gloria beamed cheerfully. "Until I beat you, of course!"

Elios groaned silently. And there was that stubborn streak again.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Gloria, as Elios realized after a few minutes, was fairly talkative once she felt comfortable with him.

"How old are you?" she asked, strolling next to him.

It was getting dark already, and Elios wanted to return to the nearest town to rest. Sobble, exhausted, had returned to its Pokeball. Dee, whom Elios wanted to work on its stamina, was flying overhead.

"Twenty," he replied.

She looked surprised, "and you're only starting your Gym Challenge now?"

He nodded. "I've been busy with...other things."

He became Champion when was seventeen, spent a year cleaning up the Ultra Beast mess, and the rest of the time until coming to Galar had been dreary and mundane.

"I'm fourteen," Gloria said.

What a coincidence. He'd started out his Island Trials on Alola then, too.

"Is Rookidee your only Pokemon?" she asked.

"No."

That seemed to gain her interest. "what are your other Pokemon?"

"A secret."

"Oh," she said, disappointed.

He smiled at her. "If you ever defeat Rookidee, maybe I will show them to you."

"And then I'll beat them, too!" she declared.

Elios chose not to respond, though he kept his smile up.

When they reached Hulbury, Gloria's stomach grumbled loudly, much to her embarrassment.

"Do you have dinner plans?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Would you like to join me for dinner then? I'm eating with a friend."

Gloria looked uncertain and worried.

"I'll pay."

"Sure then!" she said immediately.

He remembered his early days as a Trainer when money was tight. Sleeping in caves and relying on the kindness of strangers had not been uncommon for him.

As they reached the seafood restaurant, Gloria stiffened and let out a soft squeal. "Look, that's Nessa!"

It took Elios a moment to recognize her. The last he'd seen Nessa, she'd been wearing her Water Gym Uniform.

The woman waiting in front of the door was wearing a strapless sequin dress, which glittered under the setting sun, which made her look even more beautiful.

Nessa hadn't seen him yet, and was looking towards the sea, giving Elios a view of her side profile. Her dress hugged her slim body and her sharp nose twitched slightly when a strong breeze washed past, carrying the scent of the ocean.

He gulped. "Nessa."

She turned around, and her blue eyes, made brighter by the dark mascara and eye-shadow, widened in surprised as her lips drew into a soft smile.

"Elios!"

She moved towards him with surprising speed for someone wearing high-heels, stopping in front of him and holding her hands behind her back.

"I hope you're hungry," she said, "I've had a super long day and now I'm _starving_."

Elios bit his lip. Looking down himself, he said, "I think I'm a little under-dressed."

And that was another reason why he'd disliked becoming Champion. All the official functions and events he'd been forced to attend meant regularly wearing clothes that felt suffocating. He much preferred his shorts and trainers, which despite their usual comfort, was making him feel very self-conscious at the moment.

Nessa laughed. "No, you're alright. I had a photoshoot just before this. I do modelling on the side, and today they let me keep the dress." She leaned forward slightly. "What do you think, Elios?"

"You look...good," Elios managed to say, feeling very uncomfortable. If Acerola was here, he was sure she'd be snickering at him.

Nessa smiled.

"Y-Y-You're friends with _Nessa_?" a stunned voice stuttered out behind him.

Right. He'd almost forgotten about Gloria, who had apparently turned back into Shy-Gloria and was hiding behind him.

Stepping aside so Nessa could see her, Elios introduced the girl.

"This is Gloria. She's um...she's kind of following me. Oh, and she'll be joining us for dinner."

Nessa blinked. She had very long and curved eyelashes, Elios noted. She bent down and shifted herself closer to Gloria, an act that caused Gloria to turn so red Elios almost heard the steam hissing out of her ears.

It actually relieved him that he wasn't the only one feeling so jumpy around Nessa.

"How old are you, Gloria?" Nessa asked.

"F-fourteen."

Nessa gave him an indescribable look.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just thinking if I need to call the police," Nessa said.

It took a second for his confusion to dissipate.

"It's nothing like that!" Elios said, at the same time as Gloria.

"I'm just following Elios because he can teach me to be a better Trainer!" Gloria added frantically.

Nessa hmm-ed skeptically. "You know he doesn't have a single Gym Badge, right?"

"Y-yeah, I know that," Gloria said weakly, looking down, then looked back up with renewed confidence, "but he knows a lot of things, and he's already taught me all sorts of things about Pokemon and Battling I never knew!"

Nessa hmm-ed again, but this time it was longer and sounded more amused than anything else. "He does look like a very strong Trainer, doesn't he? Has he shown you his Charizard yet?"

Gloria stared at him, wide-eyed. _You have a Charizard?_ she mouthed.

"That's why I endorsed him. I bet he didn't tell you about that either, did he?"

Gloria's mouth dropped.

Elios sighed. "Let's just go in and eat already."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Dinner was delicious. Once Gloria had warmed up to Nessa and gotten over her admiration for the Gym Leader, the two hit it off spectacularly, and most of the talk at the table was done between the two girls.

Both liked Water-Type Pokemon.

Both were younger sisters.

Both had crazy ideas about the rest of his Pokemon team.

His stomach full, his head aching, and Gloria skipping happily alongside him, Elios made for the local inn.

When they stopped in front of a cottage-like building, once again, Gloria faltered next to him.

"I thought we were going to set up camp," she said.

And that was how Elios learned that traditionally, Trainers in Galar traveled with tents and camping supplies instead of returning to towns. It certainly explained the numerous smoke trails he'd often see in the sky.

"I'll pay for your room tonight," he said, delighting her. "But tomorrow, I am going to buy a tent, and you are going to show me how to use it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4:**

"I just saved your life, Elios."

"Thank… you?" Elios said, looking at the ground, where the fruits of ten minutes of hard work were now scattered all over the grass.

"Those aren't Balm Mushrooms!" Gloria, who had slammed his basket onto the ground, chided. "Those are Deathcaps! If you feed a Pokemon that, not even a Full Restore is enough to save its life!"

"Oh," Elios said. He squatted down, taking a closer look at one of the mushrooms.

"See?" Gloria took out a mushroom from her basket and showed it to him. "Balm Mushrooms have a yellow circle with a faint orange ring around it. Deathcaps have a red ring! How could you mistake them for each other?"

Elios was speechless as the girl huffed. "Honestly, I don't know how you can call yourself a Pokemon Trainer if you can't notice obvious differences like this."

What happened to that meek, docile girl that had cried after losing a Pokemon Battle?

"But it's okay," Gloria continued, smiling wildly as she displayed her basket proudly. "I picked out enough ingredients for the two of us. We're going to have a feast tonight!"

She wasn't lying. Her picnic basket was filled to the brim with leaves, mushrooms, berries, and all kinds of other plants she'd picked up. There had to be at least a dozen different kinds of them in there.

Elios whistled, impressed. "Where did you learn all this?"

"Ah," Gloria, looking a little embarrassed. "I like to read, but we don't have a lot of books at home. I found a copy of _Galar's Edible Flora _in the kitchen, and I must have read it cover-to-cover three times, at least."

He blinked. "You like reading?"

"Yeap!" she said, proudly.

He dropped to a kneel and started to rummage through his bag. He was sure he brought it, even though he had no real use for it, as a keepsake if nothing else.

"Here," he said, pulling out the book and giving it to Gloria. "Try this. It's pretty technical and wordy, but I don't think you're going to have a problem with it."

Gloria accepted the book, treating it as if it were made of gold. "_A Beginner's Guide To Pokemon Battling: Tactics And Strategies._" Then she flipped to the first page and her eyes widened. "Wow! It's even signed by the author! Who's Professor Kukui?"

"A close friend of mine," Elios said, smiling as he recalled the fond memories of the Professor and his wife. He doubted he was going to meet a man more eccentric than Professor Kukui in his life. "He taught me the foundations of Pokemon Battling."

"You're friends with a _Pokemon_ _Professor_?" Gloria exclaimed. "Galar only has one, Professor Magnolia, and she's already in her seventies!"

He shrugged. "I was lucky, I guess."

The girl hugged the book to her chest. "I'll definitely read and memorize everything in it. Thank you very much!"

"It helped me, so I'm sure it'll help you too."

**XxXxXxXxX**

It was Elios' first time sleeping in the Wild Area. He'd come in here several times before, but without any Gym Badges, they weren't allowed into the deeper areas where there were Dens and Dynamax-ed Pokemon. Here, wild Pokemon were rare, and if they did appear, they were usually weak.

They were on a flat grassland, just south of the Rolling Fields, so nothing could sneak up on them either. Gloria had shown him how to set up his new tent, and even after several tries, there was still a distinct difference between his and hers. Despite being newer, his tent looked flimsy and sagged at the top compared to Gloria's, whose perfectly-pitched tent looked exactly like the one printed on the packaging.

The girl was currently squatting in front of a campfire, which she'd also set up. From sticks and a few pieces of string, she'd also made an improvised stand to hang a large metal pot above the fire.

"You can eat spicy food, right?" Gloria asked.

Elios nodded. He wasn't obsessed with Masala like Hau was, but spiciness was something everyone who lived in Alola had to learn to live with.

"Good!" Gloria said. "I'm making curry today!"

No wonder the fragrant smell, he thought.

"How's the book?" he asked.

"It's interesting! I've learned so much. I didn't know that Normal and Fighting moves don't affect Ghost-Type Pokemon… Doesn't that make them really powerful?"

"No Pokemon is invincible," he said, "everything has its weaknesses."

"Right!" she said. "Dark-Type and…what was it again?"

"Ghosts. Ghost Pokemon are weak to other Ghost Pokemon," Elios said, trying to hide his smile.

"Ah, that's right!" Gloria said. "Like Dragons."

He raised an eyebrow. "You've read pretty far, I see."

"I like reading," she said. Then the lid of the metal pot began to rattle in place, and she beamed. "The curry's ready!"

She lifted the pot. Once the steam cleared, Elios' stomach grumbled at the sight. The ingredients Gloria had picked earlier bobbed up and down in an appetizing thick and yellow mixture. The smell was divine, and when Gloria caught him drooling, she flashed him a triumphant grin. "Not bad, isn't it? I call it Friendship Curry!"

"Friend…ship Curry?" he repeated.

"Yeah!" Gloria said, nodding her head excitedly. "To celebrate us becoming friends!"

He smiled. It was so easy to forget that an adventure was nothing without the company. "To friendship, then."

**XxXxXxXxX**

When Gloria brought out her Sobble and fed it a spoon of curry, Elios had been quite worried. Then to his surprise, the normally-bashful amphibious Pokemon broke out into a gleeful dance before licking its bowl clean.

"You didn't know?" Gloria asked, aghast. "Pokemon _love _curry!"

"They… do?" he said.

She nodded her head quickly. "Absolutely. They love curry! You should feed your Rookidee some too. Then it'll like you even more!"

Elios unclipped Dee's Pokeball from his belt. The bird Pokemon hopped out, looked at him oddly for a few seconds, sniffed the air once, and then broke out into exciting cawing.

"You didn't know," Gloria suddenly said, and then repeated once more, even more jubilantly. "You didn't know!"

"What?"

"I knew something about Pokemon that you didn't!" she said proudly.

Elios rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile. He'd eaten his fill, but looking at the pot, there was still some more left.

Maybe he could…

He turned to Gloria, who still looked elated.

"Gloria, can you keep a secret?"

She tilted her head slightly. "What secret?"

"I can't tell you until I know you can keep one."

With an exaggerated amount of severity, she dipped her head and drew an imaginary zip across her lips.

"Okay, I'm trusting you then. You can't tell anyone. _Especially Nessa_."

Now she looked even more confused, but Gloria nodded her head again, anyway.

Rookidiee chirped curiously when he unclipped another Pokeball from his belt. Gloria made a gasping sound.

Charizard landed on the ground with a thump, eyes alert, flame-lit tail swishing through the air cautiously. A second after realizing there was no battle to be fought, it lowered its serpentine neck and turned to him, arching a non-existent eyebrow.

Elios held out a bowl of curry. "Try it."

Charizard looked at the bowl hesitantly.

"It's good," Elios said. "You can ask Dee."

Dee chirped encouragingly.

Charizard dipped its head slightly, sticking out a long tongue to skim the surface of the bright-coloured mixture.

"You really _do _have a Charizard," Gloria whispered loudly, cupping one hand over her mouth.

He laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Charizard burped loudly, and Elios blinked in surprise when he saw the bowl was completely empty.

Garchomp came next.

Gloria screamed. "What is _that_?"

"Garchomp," Elios replied calmly, as he scooped curry into a bowl. Garchomp leered at the girl and she whimpered.

"It's friendly, don't worry. It's a land-shark Pokemon, and it's a Ground and Dragon-Type."

"Oh," Gloria said softly, not looking one bit less frightened.

Charizard pointed at the bowl of curry in Elios' hand and grunted.

Garchomp looked at it sceptically.

"It's like Masala, but better. You like Masala, don't you?" Elios said.

Garchomp finished it even faster than Charizard.

Next was Tyrannitar, which made Gloria excited because she recognized it.

The same happened for Aegislash and Toxapex, but when Elios finally brought out Ninetails, he had to explain to the confused girl what regional variants were, and that unlike the Ninetails found in Galar, his one was Ice and Fairy-Type.

"So… you were a Trainer in Alola?" she asked, once all the curry was gone and she'd recovered her wits.

"Yes," he said, leaning back and watching his Pokemon mingle with each other. Rookidee was nestled on Tyrannitar's head, and he was glad that his latest addition was getting along with the rest. It relieved him, actually. He hadn't given his team a chance to stretch and frolic about since meeting Gloria.

"These Pokemon… aren't they very strong? I mean, that's a Tyrannitar! Those guys are super rare and hard to tame!"

"They are," he agreed.

"Then why haven't you completed the Gym Challenge yet? Just three of these Pokemon should be enough to finish the whole thing!"

He laughed. Then he whistled. Dee flew over and perched itself gently on his shoulder. "I wouldn't have met Dee if I'd done that. And I wouldn't have become friends with you either, Gloria."

"But… but," the girl said and then stopped, clearly still awestruck by the Pokemon, all bigger than she was, lumbering and romping around her.

"Sometimes," he said, "once you've finished the race, you realize you missed out on the view. So you run it again, except much slower this time."

"You mean, you're starting over?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Yes," Elios said. "Something like that."

"This is crazy," she said. "I knew you were a good Trainer, but…" she gestured around her, "this is unbelievable!"

"Which is why you have to keep it a secret, Gloria," he said. "And why you absolutely can't tell Nessa. I can't even imagine how she'd react to it."

"I understand," Gloria said, gravely. "This is your trump card to defeat her, after all."

Elios let out an amused chuckle, but said nothing else. He had no intention of relying on his old team to beat Nessa. Rookidee was shaping up well, and it was time for him to start thinking about the next addition to the team.

Gloria was staring at his Pokemon enviously, he noticed.

"You can play with them if you'd like. They don't bite, I promise."

"Really?" the girl asked.

He nodded.

A few minutes later, Elios grinned as he watched Gloria squeal in delight as she rode around on Ninetails' back.

He'd definitely made the right choice.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The shrill sound of a whistle being blown woke him up.

He emerged from his tent the same time as Gloria did. She was dressed in pyjamas, and rubbed her eyes blearily before looking at him with a '_what's going on?' _face.

A muscular man in the Galarian League's Uniform, wearing sunglasses even though it was night, ran into their campsite.

"You two, you have to leave, right now!" he said.

That caused Elios to snap awake, and he looked around to find several Trainers, some half-dressed, running away.

The ground shook slightly.

"What happened?" he asked.

The League official looked panicked. "A Gigantamax Snorlax is on the loose! Allister is currently battling it, but we've been tasked to evacuate the area just to be safe!"

"Allister?" he asked.

"One of the Gym Leaders," Gloria said, worriedly. "There are always two stationed in the Wild Area to handle Dynamax-ed Pokemon. But Allister specializes in Ghost Pokemon…" she added, leaving the sentence hanging.

Which meant that his Pokemons' Ghost-moves would have no effect on the Normal-Type Snorlax, Elios realized. "Wait, what's a Gigantamax-ed Pokemon?" he asked, not recognizing the word.

The League official gulped. "It means it's an extra powerful Dynamax-ed Pokemon."

Gloria looked at him fearfully.

"Gloria," he said, "go with him."

"Elios, what about you?"

"I'm going to help Allister."

He hoped in the dark, no one saw his smile.

**A/N: Just realized with Pokemon Home and the DLCs, all of Elios' team will be available in Pokemon Sword/Shield. Yay!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Very short chapter. I realized I want the first few chapters in this story basically to establish Galar lore and characters, so there's no point in going into so much details of the fights.**

**Chapter 5:**

Elios wasn't quite sure if the gigantic, Snorlax-looking-like thing lying on the ground was a actually a Pokemon.

It was the size of a large hill, and more unbelievably, it had a cluster of trees and ferns growing on top of its belly. In fact, while he was flying over it, he'd initially mistaken it as part of the forest.

That was before it'd tried to shoot Elios and Charizard out of the sky.

He spied a lone Trainer standing before it and directed Charizard to land.

"Leon! You're here!" With long hair and a mask covering his face, the only indication that the Trainer was a boy was his voice, which was high and sounded pre-pubescent. A Gengar stood next to him, looking battered and exhausted. There was also a Mimikyu, though it's drooping head told Elios that its Disguise had been busted.

He jumped off his Charizard. "Allister?"

The boy startled immediately. "You're not Leon."

"No," he said. "But I can still help."

Allister brought his hands up, pressing his fingers together nervously. "I don't know... We're supposed to buy time for regular Trainers to escape when a Gigantamax Pokemon appears..."

"Have you Dynamaxed your Pokemon yet?" Elios asked.

"Yes. But Gengar hit his time limit and the Snorlax isn't budging."

On cue, the Gigantamaxed Snorlax let out a thundering roar, and Elios looked up in time to see Snorlax sit up and swing one of its arms down at them.

"Run!" Allister said. "Gengar, use Protect!"

The Gengar took a step, but then it suddenly faltered, and Elios saw the wound on its leg.

It was in no shape to fight.

"What are you doing?" Allister said. "Run! I'll hold him off!"

He unclipped two Pokeballs and threw them in the face of the oncoming attack. "Ninetails, Aurora Veil. Aegislash, King's Shield."

His breath came out as an icy mist when he finished the sentence. Ninetails landed first, its nine long tails arching upwards as chunks of hail began to fall from the sky.

It howled, and a blue-green barrier flared to life in front of them. Snorlax's fist slammed into it, slowed down considerably, but did not stop.

Then Aegislash slammed into the ground in front of Ninetails, its shield shining for a moment before Snorlax's fist collided into it.

An explosive 'gong' was heard, and Aegislash, its sword-tip buried into the ground, gouged a long line the soil as the impact sent it skidding backwards.

The Snorlax let out a painful yell, tearing its arm away and looking at it painfully.

Elios turned to look at Allister again.

The Gym Leader had gone completely still, before the sudden cold seeped into his body and he shivered and said, "okay. You can help."

Elios grinned, and tossed out his other three Pokeballs.

Tyrannitar, Garchomp, and Toxapex joined the other three to form a perfect line in front of him.

Then after considering, he brought out Dee as well. The bird Pokemon landed on the ground, saw the Gigantamaxed Snorlax looming in front of it, and let out a terrified squawk and flew to his shoulder.

"It's okay," Elios said. "You just need to watch and learn."

**XxXxXxXxX**

This was all his fault, Allister knew.

He must have missed one of the dens while out on patrol. How else could a Gigantamax Snorlax escape his notice and wreak havoc in the Wild Area? And he'd almost let it reach the cities, too!

He knew it. He wasn't good enough yet. He shouldn't have listened to the others when they said he'd make a good Gym Leader. He couldn't even do his job properly without the help of random Trainers.

The man standing in front of him was far more suited to be a Gym Leader than him. It wasn't just his self-confidence: he could stand perfectly still as Snorlax launched a deadly Crunch at him.

It was the sheer amount of confidence he had in his Pokemon: he trusted them completely to protect him.

And they did. The unknown man's Pokemon acted almost completely without direction from their Trainer, yet perfectly in-sync with one another. The Alolan Ninetails, with its superior speed, acted as an agile bait to draw out Snorlax's attack, while Aegislash and Toxapex took turns using King's Shield and Baneful Bunker to take hits that could not be avoided.

The other three—Garchomp, Charizard, and Tyrannitar—acted as the offensive pieces, landing attack after attack that even Snorlax's Dynamax Shield could not keep pace with. Streams of fire from Charizard scorched it, while Garchomp's sharp claws left bloody wounds, and Tyrannitar landed hits that could stagger even the behemoth.

Allister frowned. The man was no ordinary Galarian Trainer. If his Alolan Pokemon wasn't enough, the Garchomp was a telltale sign of experience in one of the Isles, or even in the other regions.

He remembered when Leon had returned from his training trip in the Isles. That was the birth of Galar's strongest Champion—Leon had returned a changed, and undefeatable, man.

As the battle progressed, he couldn't help but wonder: was he watching a new legend being made in front of him?

Slowly but surely, Snorlax fell. When it sunk to one knee, Allister saw his chance.

He fished out a Pokeball and pumped Dynamax Energy into it to inflate it, and then chucked it at the weakened Snorlax.

The Gigantamax Pokemon vanished into the Pokeball, and when the reassuring _click_ of a succesful capture was heard, he let out the breath he'd unconcsciously been holding.

The man was looking at him incredulously. "You can catch those things?"

"It's hard," Allister said, walking over to pick the Pokeball up, "but yes."

Then he pressed the Pokeball into the stranger's hand. "It's yours if you want."

The man looked down, visibly confused and worried. "What am I even going to do with something that big?" he asked.

Allister shook his head. "The fight made the Snorlax expand almost all of the Dynamax Energy it had stored up. It shouldn't be able to Gigantamax without the assistance of a Dynamax Band."

"But I don't really want a Snorlax. Can't you keep it?"

Allister blinked. "I... I don't really want it either. I can give it to Professor Magnolia. She likes studying Gigantamaxed Pokemon. She's researching how the Dynamax energy changes their biology permanently."

"Okay," the man shrugged. "Give it to her then. Sounds like important work."

Allister kept the Pokeball in his pocket. When he looked up, he saw the man recalling all his Pokemon except his Charizard, but not before giving them a thumbs-up.

"Well," the man said, climbing onto the Charizard. "I'll be seeing you around, Allister."

Allister didn't have time to reply before the Charizard took off.

He hadn't even managed to thank the man, or even learn his name.

He wondered when he'd see the stranger again. He sighed, looking down at his exhausted Pokemon.

There was much work to be done.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6:**

"You..." Gloria was looking up at him, her face twisted in an amusing mix of surprise, horror, and jealousy. "You gave away a Gigantamax-ed Snorlax?!"

"Donated it for research purposes," Elios clarified.

"How could you?" She sounded positively betrayed.

"Oh it was surprisingly easy," Elios said. "I just gave it to Allister, and then he said he'd pass it on to Professor Magnolia, and—"

"That's not what I meant, Elios!"

He shrugged. "Research is important. That book you love was written by Professor Kukui after years of research. Besides, I'm not familiar with Snorlaxes enough to train one. They're difficult Pokemon."

The girl calmed down noticeably. Like an eager student wanting to learn, she asked, "what do you mean, Elios?"

"How do you motivate a Pokemon famous for its laziness and love for sleep?"

Gloria blinked. "I...don't know."

"Exactly. You'd be much better off starting with a Munchlax. Those guys only like eating, and treats are a common reward for all Pokemon."

Gloria kept quiet after that. She trudged along beside him, carrying her comically-large backpack. To train up its stamina, she'd formed the habit of having her Sobble follow them on foot. The amphibian-Pokemon waddled closely behind her, panting, but kept one hand tightly wrapped around the thick and padded material of her pants.

Elios breathed into his palms to warm them up. Frozen, wispy curls of his breath leaked through his fingers. He hated the cold. One thing he could never understand was why Kukui built the Alolan Pokemon League on the summit of its tallest mountain, where everything was frozen on a good day, and blinding blizzards whipped through on a bad one.

Dee's clawed grip on his shoulder tightened. Flying Pokemon were particularly weak to the cold, and he uncapped a thermos flask from his backpack and poured some hot soup for the bird Pokemon to drink, which it did gratefully.

This was the quickest way to overcome its weakness to Ice-Type moves.

"Elios? Why are we in Circhester City again?" Gloria asked, brushing off some snow from her shoulders.

"Because I want a certain Pokemon in Route 8," Elios said. "So I figured we might as well visit the city. I'd like to take a dip in its famous hot springs."

Thankfully, the restrictions limiting their access to the Wild Area didn't stop them from traversing across the whole region—a railway system connected the various cities.

If it weren't caked in snow, Elios might've found Circhester City his favorite place so far. It was quiet, with brick-paved roads between modern, mortar buildings. Expensive-looking boutiques and fancy hotels lined the streets, and despite the cold, its citizens walked with a carefree, refined air.

Kahili, the Elite Four Member in Alola who seemed to like him the least, would have fit in perfectly here.

They walked into Hotel Ionia's lobby, and Gloria gasped at the extravagance around her. Crystal chandeliers hung from the the ceilings, illuminating the many pieces of velvet, mahogany-made furniture that littered the room. Attendants dressed in crisp suits tended to lavishly-clothed patrons near-religiously.

Elios went straight to the reception and got two rooms. When he was done, he found Gloria staring at him owlishly.

"Elios, I've been meaning to ask you but...you're pretty rich, aren't you?"

"My old job paid well," he said.

And it really had, too.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The baths in Circhester City had been refreshing. There was a sign on them detailing how it had once been used by Galar's mythical heroes and Elios made a mental note to research more on the land's folklore and myths once he had the time.

He'd met a few people whose passions revolved around investigating them, and as he had learned through experience, going down that road could lead one to encounters with Legendaries. After what happened with Necrozma, Solgaleo, and Lunala, he was slightly hesitant to get involved with Legendaries again, especially since he wasn't Champion here. But still, Galar's founding story of two heroes vanquishing a great evil seemed interesting. Gloria, who didn't know too much about it herself, mentioned knowing one of Professor's Magnolia assistants who did.

He pushed the distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. They were on Route 8 now, combing through snow-covered trees and grass for the Pokemon he was looking for.

"Have you considered what your second Pokemon is going to be?" he asked Gloria.

The girl briefly looked at Sobble, whom she was carrying, and then shook her head. "No, not yet."

"You should start before you challenge the first Gym. Milo's going to have three Pokemon, and Sobble's Water-Type is going to put you at a disadvantage from the very start."

Gloria sighed. "Oh yeah. He's a Grass-Type specialist." Then she paused, and looked as if she'd thought of something important. "By the way, why do some people specialize and some people not? You and Leon use all Types, but all the Gym Leaders specialize in one, don't they?"

It was something Elios hadn't understood as a budding Trainer either. It was only after he'd completed the Island Trials, when he was aiming for the seat of Champion, and training his Pokemon far more seriously, that he saw the benefits of having a specialized team.

"Efficiency. It's all about efficiency."

"I don't get it," Gloria said.

Elios stopped walking. This was going to take a while to explain. With a gloved hand, he wiped the snow off a fallen log and took a seat on it. "At the start, there are some common ways to train Pokemon. Agility, Strength, Stamina, and so on. When working on the basics, common exercises like stone-catching and running laps work on pretty much all Pokemon. But every Pokemon is different. After a while. you're going to need to tailor its training regiment to suit them best, taking into account its nature, preferred terrain, Typing, and other variables. If you have six completely different Pokemon, you're going to have come up with a training regime for each one of them."

"I see," Gloria said, nodding. "So, by having all the Pokemon be the same Type, instead of having six completely different training regiments, you can have six somewhat similar ones!"

"More or less," Elios said. "And you make up for their common weakness by building up their tolerance to their weak Types, or training up their second Typing as well. It's a tried and tested strategy. Some teams work very well in rain, others in harsh sunlight. There are all kinds of tactics you can use to bolster a specialized team's strengths and they can be very powerful."

"But you don't use a specialized team," Gloria said.

"No, I don't."

She squinted at him. "You must have worked very hard, Elios."

"Yes, I did."

"Wait, how old were you when you started?"

"About your age right now, actually."

"You mean, I could be as strong as you in just a few years time?" Gloria said, leaping up in excitement.

"Possibly," Elios said. "Maybe later, maybe earlier." Then he shrugged and smiled. "Maybe never."

She rolled her eyes, then took on a more serious face. "I've decided. I want a Fire-Type Pokemon for the second member of my team."

**XxXxXxXxX**

"It's so cute!" Gloria gushed.

Elios nodded his head in agreement.

The wild Snom was wriggling on the spot, nibbling on the snow beneath it. It was a round and white thing, with two stubby short extensions on its face that acted as its mouth. A layer of icy spikes covered its lower half, but it didn't look as threatening as it did adorable.

Elios chucked a Pokeball at it.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I realize my updates for this fic are more or less tied to the release of every Pokemon Twilight Wings episode. Seriously, that anime is great, and I wish they make it a full feature. (For those who don't know, Pokemon is releasing 5-minute anime episodes about Galar characters on Youtube every month. Go check it out if you like this fic, you'll definitely like Twilight Wings.) #Nessabestgirl**

**Chapter 7:**

After a full day of modelling and an exhibition match with Milo, Nessa was finally happy to eat some cake. Well, she could once Sonia came. Her friend was late, as usual.

She resisted the urge to slice into the roll cake in front of her.

"You won't _believe_ what happened yesterday!"

Speak of the devil. Sonia burst into the café, scrambling into the seat across her. Her glasses were propped up to keep her bangs up, and her peach-coloured hair was tied into its usual messy ponytail decorated with heart-shaped pins.

The first thing Nessa did was to cut out a slice of cake. "What?" she asked, then slid it into her mouth.

Nothing beat dessert after a day of hard work. She'd been so busy she'd had to skip lunch.

"Look at this!" Sonia said. She fished out her phone from her sling pouch and held it up for Nessa to see.

Nessa recognized the place in the photo immediately. It was Milo's stadium in Turffield—she'd just returned from a battle there. It took her a little longer to recognize the gigantic Pokemon in it though. There were too many trees on it.

"Is…is that a Gigantamax-ed Snorlax?" Nessa asked, leaning in. She'd never seen one before, even during her rounds in the Wild Area.

"Yeah!" Sonia said, nodding her head excitedly. "It was given to my grandma yesterday, isn't that amazing? We've postponed all our other projects to start studying it!"

"Uh huh," Nessa said, slightly distracted as Sonia helped herself to some cake. That was an awfully large slice.

Sonia's face turned into one of pure bliss as she started chewing. "Oh, I just love the cake here." And then Nessa watched as she took another awfully large slice.

Nessa sighed. That was the one downside to modelling. She couldn't stuff herself with food the way Sonia could. And even then, Sonia had a great body—she could be a model as well, if she wanted to. Life was unfair.

She wished somebody could give her a Gigantamax-ed Snorlax too.

Then she tilted her head as she remembered something Milo told her earlier. "Is that the same Gigantamax-ed Snorlax that got loose in the Wild Area the other day?"

Sonia nodded, still chewing.

"Allister stopped it, I heard," Nessa said. "I guess he has no use for a Gigantamax-ed Snorlax since he's a Ghost-Type specialist. I'm surprised, actually. I didn't know the kid had it in him to stop such a powerful Pokemon."

Sonia's eyes suddenly lit up. She held out her fork and started shaking it at Nessa. "That's the thing. I was asking Allister about it. He didn't stop it by himself. Someone else helped him."

"Melony?" Nessa asked. "She's in the Wild Area with him, isn't she?"

"No. It was just some passing Trainer. Some guy. But he sounded really strong. Allister also thinks he's not from Galar."

Nessa narrowed her eyes. A really strong Trainer from somewhere else? Could it actually be…

"He has an Alolan Ninetails," Sonia continued. "So maybe from there? Man, those things are really pretty. I wish the Ninetails here are like that, too."

Nessa relaxed slightly. An Alolan Trainer then. Elios had said he came from Kanto, and—

"Allister also said he had a Charizard," Sonia added. "And a Garchomp."

Her fork bent in her grip. "Hold on a second," Nessa said.

"Who are you calling?" Sonia asked.

"Hello? Elios? Where are you right now?"

"Elios?" Sonia asked. "Isn't that the guy you said you wanted—"

"Shh!" Nessa said. Sonia's mouth snapped shut.

…

"Circhester City? What are you doing there?"

…

"Going for a Frosmoth, I see. It has good Typing against Milo, but you're going to struggle against Kabu with that."

…

"Me? My Drednaw is Rock-Type. What do you think?"

…

"Anyway, Elios, I wanted to ask you something. Where were you two nights ago?"

…

"And did anything happen in the Wild Area?"

…

"Really? Nothing interesting?" she asked. She didn't believe him. But, she didn't want Elios to think she was the pushy type of girl.

…

"Oh. It's fine. It was just, a Gigantamax-ed Snorlax showed up in a low-risk area and I was worried about you."

…

"Of course, I should be worried about you! You're the only Trainer I endorsed recently. If you die, I'll look bad. And there's poor Gloria following you too. You'd better be teaching and taking care of her properly."

…

Her face felt very hot suddenly. "No! That's not what I meant. Of course, I'm concerned for you, too. I know you're a good Trainer, Elios. But I just can't help but worry. The Wild Area is dangerous, and Gigantamax-ed Pokemon are extra dangerous."

…

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing your Pokemon training time! It's not my fault I care about you."

She groaned and hung up the call. She hadn't managed to get anything useful other than reminding herself that Elios could be awfully vague and annoying at times.

"Making good progress, I presume," Sonia said, with a smirk. She started drinking from her cup and after putting it back down, she looked a bit more serious. "So is it him? I thought you said he was a Kanto boy."

"That's what he said," Nessa said, frowning. "But I think he's a very good liar."

"And you… like that?" Sonia asked.

"No. I just don't know when he's telling the truth. Ugh. If only there was someone I could ask—Gloria!"

Sonia shook her head. "I still think it's kind of weird for Gloria to be tagging along with him, but you're still checking up on her regularly right?"

"I'm going to check up on her right now," Nessa said, having already sent the message.

A second later, her phone buzzed, and Nessa read Gloria's reply.

She grinned. "I knew it."

She called Elios again. He picked up immediately.

"Hey, Elios. Did you know, I've never seen a Garchomp before?"

Sonia's eyes widened, and she started pointing at herself.

"Oh," Nessa added, "and I have a friend that really wants to see an Alolan Ninetails."

…

"A little birdie told me."

…

"I'll be seeing you in Hulberry soon, Elios. I'm right after Milo, remember?"

Elios hung up abruptly, but Nessa still felt a sense of accomplishment.

Sonia tapped her chin. "So, Elios is from Alola, huh. You know, now that I think about it, I think I've heard that name from somewhere before."

**XxXxXxXxX**

"You didn't tell me _not _to say anything to her!" Gloria exclaimed.

Elios rubbed his temples. Great. Now he needed to avoid Hulberry City for as long as possible.

Still, today wasn't a total loss.

His new Corvisquire tried landing on his shoulder, and he winced.

"Be careful, Dee. You can't do that anymore," he said. "You're a lot bigger and stronger now. And your talons are also sharper."

Dee cooed despondently.

"Well, that's part of becoming stronger. Congratulations."

Gloria looked at him jealously, then turned to her Sobble expectantly.

The amphibian Pokemon closed its eyes and concentrated very hard. Then it sighed and threw up its arm in defeat.

Gloria sighed. "Life is so unfair."

"Hey, you caught a Darumaka. That's already not bad."

The girl brightened up considerably. "Once I get it to like me, all I need is an Ice Stone to evolve it, right? I can't wait!"

"Yeah," Elios said. Getting Snom to evolve was going to be difficult—it required the little critter to like him a lot. Which was why he was currently hand-feeding snow to the Ice/Bug-Type Pokemon. "Once both our teams have evolved, we should be ready to take on the first Gym."

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Check out Pokemon Twilight Wings on Youtube if you haven't!**

**Also, if you like this story, check out my others! (They happen to be much longer and much more serious)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Marginally longer chapter this time. About 400 words longer. The important A/N is at the bottom.**

**Chapter 8:**

"Elios!" Gloria called out. "Darumaka won't come down from the tree!"

Elios didn't respond. He was too busy prodding the object that had fallen from the sky with his foot. It was tiny—smaller than his thumb, but it gave off a bright purplish glow. _It looks like a star_, he thought. He bent down to pick it up, and nearly dropped it when the object hummed upon contact. The snow around had already started melting. He'd gone through enough to know that bright, weird-looking objects that fell from the sky were either very good things, or very bad ones.

He'd take his chances.

Bringing it closer to inspect it, he had to look away because of the glare. It was something he'd never seen before. It resembled a many-sided dice, except some of its faces were protruding out to give it an irregular feel. As he felt it pulse with a mysterious energy, he couldn't help but be reminded of Z-crystals and Keystones.

"Bad Daru! Elios!" Gloria stomped up to him. "I need your help—Whoa. Is that a Wishing Star?"

Gloria was staring at his hand, her eyes sparkling just as brightly as the object itself.

"I don't know," Elios said. "What's a Wishing Star?"

"A magical rock that falls from the sky that helps Trainers Dynamax their Pokemon. You know the shiny bracelet that Nessa and the other Gym Leaders have? There's a Wishing Star in each of them."

Vaguely, Elios recalled Nessa explaining something like that to him, but it felt like ages ago and he'd forgotten.

He turned back to the thing in his hand. "Then yes, I think it's a Wishing Star."

"Where did you find it?" Gloria asked, and before he could reply, "was there another one? What are you going to do with it?"

"It fell from the sky. No, there wasn't." But he hesitated for the last question. Dynamax-ing was doubtlessly a powerful tool, and he could understand the appeal of it, but… with Mega-evolutions and his Z-crystals, Elios wasn't sure if he would even use it.

"You can sell it," Gloria said. "People pay big bucks for a Wishing Star. If you have one, clearing the Gym Challenge becomes _so _much easier."

"I see," he said. He pulled on Gloria's hand and plopped the Wishing Star on her open palm. "You take it then."

The girl blinked at the Wishing Star now in her grasp, then looked back up at him. "What?"

"You can have it," he said. "I don't need it." It wasn't right for him to keep it if he knew someone else needed it more.

"You're… _giving_ it to me? Just like that?"

"Would you prefer if I sold it to you?"

For a moment, Gloria pursed her lips. She was actually considering it, Elios realized. "I'm kidding," he said. "I don't need your money either."

She tackled him with such force and speed that Elios nearly tumbled over. Shaking arms wrapped around him as a wet feeling spread from his chest, where Gloria had pressed her face into. She was… crying?

No, she was _hugging _him.

_And crying_, he thought, as Gloria sniffled.

"Thanks, Elios."

"Um, you're welcome?" he said. When she didn't let go and Elios still didn't know what to do, he opted to pat her head twice. He shuddered from the awkwardness, but Gloria only hugged him tighter after that.

It didn't feel too bad.

**C=|===**

Dee chirped as it hovered next to him. It had been in a chipper mood since they left the snowy world of Circhester City for Wedgefield Town. Elios had been here once. Even though he liked the quaintness and peace of the tiny town, there hadn't been much to do so he hadn't stayed long.

"It's just a short walk to Professor Magnolia's lab, I promise!" Gloria said, almost singing, as she led them out of Wedgefield station.

While Elios was glad to be in a warm, sunny place where his breath didn't freeze, he sighed. Now there was no more snow to feed his Snom. It'd gotten bigger, but Elios had no idea how much more he needed to make the little critter like him before it would evolve into a Frosmoth. And he would have to keep Frosmoth stuck in its Pokeball in the meantime, too. Its complete lack of mobility meant that Elios would need to carry it around, but as cute as Snom was, its icy spikes were sharp and cold.

Idly, he wondered if he could get Ninetails to use Powder Snow and feed that to Snom. Would that work, or could Snom tell the difference?

Maybe he should have given the Wishing Star to Gloria _after_ Snom had evolved.

He banished that thought as Gloria started skipping in front of him. Darumaka half-rolled, half-bounced next to her while Sobble clambered to catch up.

Elios quickened his pace to match hers. "What's Professor Magnolia like?" he asked. He had a few questions, and if Galar's resident Professor wasn't too busy, he was hoping she could answer them for him.

"I don't know, I've never met her," Gloria said, her jubilant aura not even taking a dent.

Elios frowned. "And you're sure she'll help us?"

He swore, if Gloria brought them all the way here only for—

"Yeah!" Gloria said. "Her granddaughter, Sonia, used to be our neighbour until she moved away to live with her grandmother. I called her. They're expecting us."

"Oh," Elios said. "And what's she like?"

"She's a _really _nice person," Gloria said. "She taught my brother and me about Pokemon when we were kids. She's the reason we wanted to be Trainers."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios didn't like Sonia. Or at the very least, he thought there was something off about her.

She kept staring at him. With a big grin and a glint in her eyes that combined to form the perfect 'I-know-something-you-don't' face. It was distracting enough that Elios wasn't able to concentrate on Professor Magnolia's explanation on Dynamax-ing and Wishing Stars. Gloria didn't have the same problem, and she nodded her head every time the elderly woman mentioned some technical term Elios had never heard before.

"Would you like to help create your Dynamax band?" Professor Magnolia asked Gloria. "You can pick the colour and the basic design."

"I can?" Gloria asked, and hurried off to follow her.

That left Elios alone with Sonia. Her grin grew wider, and Elios suddenly found himself extremely interested in the plants that grew in the giant cone-shaped glasshouse in the corner of the room.

"You know, Elios…"

Darn it.

"—Nessa talks about you. A lot. Every time we hang out, she's all 'Elios did this, Elios did that'. Isn't it nice that she's paying so much attention to you?"

So she was friends with Nessa. That explained it. He shrugged. "She hasn't endorsed any other Trainer recently except me. There's no one else for her to bother."

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Nessa's a really busy person, just so you know. She's a Gym Leader, and she has her modelling job. She's been trying to break into the film industry too."

Nessa? An actress? Elios tried to picture it. "She can probably do it, she's got the looks."

"She is beautiful, isn't she? But I wonder why she still makes the time to 'bother' some random trainer she met."

"She saw my Charizard, I guess."

Sonia made a noise that sounded like she tried to swallow a snort, but she covered her mouth and it took a few seconds for her body to stop shaking.

"That's not what I meant," Elios said, frowning.

"I know, I know. I'm the friend that wants to see your Ninetails, by the way," Sonia said.

"No," was all he said.

"No need to be so grouchy," Sonia said. She formed a bridge with her hands and placed her chin on it. "I'm Nessa's best friend. You're going to be seeing a lot of me in the future, I think."

Elios narrowed his eyes. "Why is that?"

"Because I'm a very curious person," Sonia said. "When my best friend starts talking about a man, obviously I'm going to be concerned. And once I discovered that same man has taken my old-time neighbour—a fourteen-year-old girl—under his wing, of course I'm going to do some research on him."

_Oh no._

"So what are you doing in Galar, Mr. Former-Champion-Of-The-Alola-Region?"

Elios sighed. Someone was bound to have learned about it sooner or later. "You haven't told Nessa, have you?"

Sonia smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't dare. You're going to have to do that all on your own, Elios."

**XxXxXxXxX**

"He said I was pretty?" Nessa repeated, her voice turning squeaky. "What else did he say?"

Sonia had to pull the phone away from her ear because Nessa had almost screamed that last question. Honestly, her friend was just being too adorable right now. She was the region's top model—every man here was going to find her attractive.

"You know, just some stuff about Gloria's progress. They're going to tackle Milo's Gym pretty soon."

"Should I go to cheer them on?" Nessa asked. "Or would that be too weird?"

So _cute. _"Do you even have the time? Don't you have that big photoshoot coming up?"

"Oh right, I forgot about that. I don't think they'll let me reschedule it. I'll send him a message the day itself then. But there, you've finally met him—what do you think of him?"

"Nessa, he _gave _a Wishing Star to Gloria. And, let's not forget about the Gigantamax-ed Snorlax he donated to the lab too. Honestly? I'd kiss him if I could. Now that I think about it, he's quite the looker, isn't he?"

Sonia grinned, imagining Nessa crushing her phone. "_Don't you dare_."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"But did you learn anything else about him? He refuses to tell me anything about himself. It's so _annoying_."

Sonia hummed. For a moment, she considered it. But she'd promised Elios she wouldn't tell a soul. "Hm? Nah, he didn't tell me anything either."

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: This always happens. I can't help but ship two random characters I never intended to in all my fics. All I wanted when I first started writing this was my Garchomp and my Mega-Charizard in Pokemon Sword and Shield. On that note, anyone else excited for the first DLC coming next month!? **

**Okay, but ****important question****: do you guys want me to start focusing on Elios/Nessa? Or keep it an interesting side-plot as we continue his adventure in Galar. Honestly, I'm fine with both. This fic is my stress-relief fic, where I really don't care about anything else except writing it.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9:**

Elios wondered if using a Technical Machine to teach Frosmoth Blizzard was considered cheating. It wasn't, was it? He'd paid good money for his TMs—and anyone with enough money could buy them from shops.

"It's not fair, Elios," Gloria complained. "Both your Pokemon have evolved and they listen to you. But Darumaka keeps fooling around and Sobble's too scared of it to train together."

Elios watched Corvisquire and Frosmoth chase each other in a game of aerial tag. Dee was faster and more nimble than the Ice and Bug-Type Frosmoth, but the other Pokemon had learned its frosty breath could halt its opponent in its tracks long enough to escape its grasp and create opportunities to strike. For now, it was a stalemate—the perfect way to improve Dee's evasion and Frosmoth's speed.

Gloria had no such luck with her Pokemon. Sobble still recoiled at everything that breathed in its direction, and Darumaka had a penchant of wandering off on its own to roll down the nearest hill it could find.

"You're their Trainer," Elios told the depressed girl. "You have to tell them to behave."

"I do!" she said. "I give them treats when they listen to me and everything, but it still isn't working!"

"And what happens when they don't listen to you?"

"I, erm…" Gloria pressed her fingers together and looked away. "I yell at them, and um…"

"Yes?" Elios said.

"I don't want to punish them, okay?!" she said. "What happens if they hate me after that? What am I going to do?"

Elios sighed. Taming Pokemon was a tricky business. There were many people that weren't willing to put in the effort to win the heart of their partners, and Elios had met many trainers that relied on brute force back in Alola. That was where tools like whips and electric chokers came in.

Elios hated this method with a passion because it worked, superficially. But, as Champion, he'd seen too many cases where an abused Pokemon went rogue and killed its Trainer, or even itself. Too many Trainers saw their Pokemon as servants instead of partners. Too many trainers refused to believe in them.

The symptoms of Gloria's situation were the exact opposite, but the root cause was the same.

"Gloria, do you trust your Pokemon?"

"What?" the girl asked. "Of course I do."

"Do you want the best for them?"

"Yeah…"

"Then believe in them. Do you what you think is best for them, and trust that they'll see it soon enough. You're their Trainer, Gloria. You can't be afraid of them."

"I'm not afraid of them," Gloria said. "I just don't want to hurt them."

"You have to teach them, Gloria. Otherwise, they'll learn the hard and painful way."

Pokemon _needed _Trainers. On their own, they wouldn't be able understand concepts like Type matchups. Some had good instincts, and those that did were the ones able to thrive on their own. But those exceptions were few and dangerous—the sort of Pokemon that didn't need Trainers to begin with.

Gloria watched Frosmoth and Dee engaging in a mock dogfight. And then she turned to her own Pokemon; Darumaka was swinging from a tree branch, trying to poke Sobble with a twig.

"Fine," she said.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Darumaka's whine interrupted the peaceful crackling of the campfire, noisily and high-pitched, like someone letting air out of a balloon.

Gloria's lips quivered.

"No," Elios said. "If you feed it now, then it's only going to learn it can get what it wants by throwing a tantrum. Just keep it ignoring it. When it apologizes, then give it some curry."

The girl took a deep breath and nodded. "I can do this."

Sobble looked at its Trainer curiously. It seemed to have picked up on Gloria's change in demeanour, and its actions were muted and meek as it sipped on its curry.

Elios' Pokemon guzzled down their portions. He'd been worried for Frosmoth at first—it had only eaten snow all its life, what if the spiciness was too much for it to handle and it melted on the spot?

But Frosmoth had taken to its new food and companions well. If Corvisquire was prideful, then Frosmoth was cautious. It hovered around Garchomp, staying out of range from its sharp claws. It knew it was outclassed, but Elios hoped that wouldn't stop it from making friends.

So far though, Frosmoth seemed to trust Ninetails. Its fellow Ice-type Pokemon was currently curled up on the ground, using its many tails as a pillow. Frosmoth floated up to it and perched itself on Ninetails' back.

He turned back when Dee cawed at him. It was holding its plate in its beak.

"That's enough, Dee. No more for you," he said, firmly.

Dee cawed again.

"No."

It squawked, but left its plate on the ground and flew to bother Charizard.

Gloria pouted. "How do you get it to listen to you like that?"

"If you show a Pokemon you know what's best for it, they'll start trusting your decisions." He shrugged. "It works with people and animals, too."

Gloria looked at Darumaka, who was sulking by her tent and kicking every rock it could find. "But how do you if you _really _know what's best for your Pokemon?"

"That's the hardest part," Elios said, finally starting to eat his dinner. "Learning to trust yourself."

Elios had only learned that painful lesson when Primarina nearly died in one of his earlier encounters with Team Rainbow Rocket. His starting Pokemon had paid dearly for his indecision, and he was never going to let it happen again.

Gloria hummed in thought, then looked down when Darumaka tapped her leg. The chubby, round Pokemon thrust an arm toward her, her beret clutched in its grip. It had nicked it off the top of her head earlier and thrown it. Gloria had thought of it as a harmless prank, but Elios knew better. If a Pokemon didn't respect its Trainer, it would never obey them. He had forbidden Gloria from picking it up—Darumaka had to get it for her.

"It worked!" Gloria said with a bright smile. Then she scooped out the rest of the curry and fed it to Darumaka. It cheered the Pokemon up, and that made Gloria smile even wider.

It was a step in the right direction. Once Darumaka was well-behaved and cooperative, it was ready to be evolved. Sobble, on the other hand…

He glanced at the amphibian Pokemon. It was poking at a grasshopper with a stick. When the insect hopped away suddenly, Sobble leaped backward and fell on its bottom with a yelp.

That would take a lot more work.

Elios had a few ideas, but Gloria was on a journey of her own—he couldn't always spoon-feed her the answers.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Elios?"

Years of getting himself out of sticky situations and sneaking up on wild Pokemon had made very Elios very good at hiding.

"Elios? Where are you!?"

Gloria stumbled through the bushes below. She hadn't thought to look up. If she had, she still might have missed him crouching on a branch, hidden by a thicket of leaves. He looked at the Pokeball in his hand and muttered a silent apology to Gloria. It was unacceptable for a Trainer to steal another Trainer's Pokemon, but Elios needed Darumaka out of the picture for now.

"Elios?" Gloria's voice was squeaky now. The note of panic in her voice became more pronounced each time she called his name. They were in a forest near the border of the more dangerous regions of the Wild Area. It was getting dark, too. The perfect ingredients for a panic attack.

Gloria remained surprisingly calm, and Elios remembered that she'd been in the Wild Area before meeting him. He watched, impressed, as she took a few deep breaths and clapped her cheeks.

"Gotta leave the forest first," she said to herself. "Elios will be fine. I'm the one in trouble."

She pulled out a torchlight and started to retrace the steps they'd taken. Elios followed, making sure to be as quiet and stealthy as possible.

He stepped on a dried twig, and he barely dodged the incoming beam of light sweeping toward him. That little incident unsettled Gloria, and there was a renewed sense of urgency in her movements.

She became completely still, however, when the Shiftry barged into view. Its shaggy white mane combed the ground as it hulked toward Gloria, dragging its leaf-fingered hands across the forest floor.

This was…not good. Elios hadn't expected a Pokemon as powerful as a Shiftry to be here.

Gloria turned off the light, kept a low profile, and stopped moving. It wasn't a permanent solution, of course. The Shiftry was well-adapted to the dark and would spot her soon. Her hand slowly inched toward her belt and found only empty air where Elios had swiped her Darumaka earlier.

Her shoulders tensed. Elios could almost smell her fear. Losing a Pokemon was every Trainer's worst fear. However, fighting a powerful Pokemon without one of their own was a very close second. He saw her fingers brush against Sobble's Pokeball but they stayed there, refusing to unclasp it from her belt.

Gloria was hesitating.

_Trust your Pokemon, Gloria._

The Shiftry stopped, sniffed the air, and turned to face Gloria. It let out a threatening cry—a deep, guttural howl. It was now or never. She threw the Pokeball and out came Sobble. The little Pokemon saw the looming form of Shiftry and bounded straight toward Gloria and hid behind her leg.

"Sobble, we're in a lot trouble," Gloria said, slowly stepping backwards. The Shiftry moved closer.

Sobble wailed in agreement.

"I don't think we can win," Gloria said. "But maybe if we work together, we can try to scare it off."

Elios liked Gloria's frank optimism.

"Sobble, use Growl!"

Sobble let out a high-pitched, trembling squeal. The Shiftry didn't even falter, and continued to lumber toward Gloria.

"Okay," Gloria said. Elios could hear the panic starting to creep into her voice. "Let's try that again, Sobble. Try sounding a little…scarier. Use Growl, Sobble!"

The squeal was louder, higher-pitched, and shakier. The Shiftry was now only a few paces away.

"Use Water Gun, Sobble, and then run!" Gloria said.

Elios raised an eyebrow. Gloria was being remarkably level-headed and analytical. Water Gun might have been less effective against the Leaf-Type Shiftry compared to Tackle, but the additional range allowed Sobble to stay out of harm's way.

A spurt of water erupted from Sobble's mouth and splashed onto the Shiftry. It stumbled backward, but only looked annoyed and wet afterward.

It charged toward the Sobble.

"Run, Sobble, run!" Gloria screamed.

Sobble didn't move. Even from where he was standing, Elios could see its shaking legs. The little thing was overcome with fear.

The Shiftry slammed an arm at it.

"No!" Gloria dashed toward Sobble, shoved it away, and took the attack mid-dive. Shiftry's leaf-claws slashed through her bag, and its contents spilled out. Elios immediately leaped out of his tree—he hadn't expected Gloria to sacrifice herself for Sobble. He'd let things become too dangerous; if the Shiftry's slash had hit flesh instead, Gloria would be bleeding out right now. He unlatched Charizard's Pokeball and was just about to throw it when he saw something that made him pause.

Gloria was still on the floor, the Shiftry towering over her. Knocked to the side, Sobble watched the scene with unblinking eyes. The shock made life return to it, and with it, rage.

It clenched its little webbed fingers, narrowed its eyes, and growled.

A real Growl, this time.

"S-Sobble?" Gloria's voice echoed through the forest. It must have been her first time seeing it enraged.

The Shiftry stepped away from Gloria and growled back. Sobble didn't budge. It took another step forward, and its body suddenly became engulfed in light. Elios looked away for a brief instant, but when he looked back, something else had replaced Sobble.

Its short-stubby limbs were now long and slender. Wide and naïve eyes narrowed in anger. A long tail swished in the air threateningly. It growled and stepped in front of Gloria protectively.

Elios blinked. He hadn't expected Sobble to evolve just like that.

"Sobble!" Gloria cried. Despite still being pinned to the ground, the joy in her voice was unmistakable. "I mean, Drizzile, You did it!"

Shiftry ran toward it, swinging its arm wildly. Unfazed, Drizzile opened it mouth. A pulsating beam of water crashed into the Shiftry's face.

Elios' eyebrows rose. It had become strong enough to use Water Pulse now, too.

The Shiftry spun on the spot and clawed at its face. Gloria quickly got to her feet and tackled Drizzile in a hug. "I knew you had it in you! Oh my god, I'm so proud of you!"

The Shiftry shook its head, spraying water from its drenched mane all over the place. Then it walked into a tree.

"It's confused! C'mon, Drizzile, let's run while we can!"

Gloria ran and, for the first time, Drizzile had no problem catching up.

Elios remained standing where he was. That went _way _better than he'd initially thought.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios munched on his nutrient bar.

"What's that, Drizzile?" Gloria asked. "You want _more _curry? Sure, go ahead! Have as much as you like! We've got all the curry in the world for the three of us. I don't think we can finish it."

Elios continued munching on his nutrient bar.

"Yeah. I guess we'll have to throw the leftovers away."

Elios coughed into his palm. "Maybe you can give some—"

"I hate wasting food, though. If only I had a _friend _I could give it to. Someone I can trust _not _to abandon me in the forest in the evening. Too bad there isn't anyone like that here."

Elios sighed. He'd apologized and given her an Ice Stone to evolve Darumaka with, but she was right; he had almost let things spiral out of control this time.

Once Gloria forgave him, they could start making their way toward Turfield to challenge Milo's Gym.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: This chapter is was fun to write. It's also slightly longer than the previous few. Do leave a like, comment, review, favorite, follow, and stuff like that. Every little bit helps to encourage the next chapter to come a little faster.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This chapter is much earlier and longer because I had a sudden Eureka moment that I couldn't wait to write. What is it? Read, get your mind blown, and let me know in the comments!**

**Chapter 10:**

Elios sat in the waiting room. Two hours ago, the room had been packed with challenger-hopefuls and the room had buzzed with nervous and excited chatter. Now, he was the only one left, alone with his thoughts.

The screen in the monitor displayed the match between Gloria and Milo. They were both on their final Pokemon—Milo's Dynamax-ed Eldegoss against Gloria's Dynamax-ed Darmanitan. With Eldegoss confused earlier by Drizzile, and the Typing to Gloria's advantage, her victory was more than assured.

He stared at the two Pokeballs in his hand. He'd trained Frosmoth and Dee well. They would be able to beat Milo. But still, his stomach churned, and he watched his fingers tremble against his will.

Fear?

Excitement?

He couldn't tell, but he hadn't felt like this in a very long time. This was new ground to him—a Dynamax battle. He didn't count the encounter with the Gigantamax Snorlax. Wild Pokemon were simple-minded and predictable. A Dynamax-ed Pokemon in the hands of a Trainer was certain to be a challenge like he'd never faced before. And this time, he wouldn't have the aid of his Alolan Team.

The ground shook, and the muffled roar of the crowd slipped through the gap under the door, accompanied by a cool breeze. Sure enough, Elios looked at the screen just in time to see Darmanitan's Max Hailstorm crash into Eldegoss. Milo's Pokemon shrunk back into its normal size and collapsed to the ground.

The battle was over.

When Gloria started leaping up and down on the spot, Elios felt something well up in his chest. _Well done, Gloria._

His pocket started vibrating. Nessa was calling him.

"Hello?" he said.

"Elios!" Nessa was huffing. "My photoshoot ended late—I'm not too slow, am I? You haven't fought Milo yet, right?"

"No, not yet," he said. "I'm next. Gloria just won against him."

"She did? Wow, that's amazing. You must be feeling proud huh, Papa-bird?"

"She's been training very hard."

"I'm sure she has, just like I'm sure you have, Elios. I called to say, well um, not that I think you need it or anything, but, good luck, Elios. It's your first Gym Badge. That's a big milestone for anyone."

He felt something tugging his lips upward. "Thank you, Nessa. I appreciate it. A little luck never hurt anyone."

"You'd better win, Elios. Because then you'll be battling me. I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm not. Not at all. I think I might just call it quits here. One badge is enough," he said. He promised Sonia to tell Nessa once their battle was over. If anything, given Nessa's competitive streak, he was certain the only thing the admission would achieve was a challenge for a rematch.

And when she lost that battle, another one. And then another one. He sighed. History was doomed to repeat itself.

"That's not the kind of thing a Trainer I endorsed should be saying," Nessa said, sounding cross. "Looks like I'll need to beat a few lessons into you when we next meet. See you soon, Elios, I've got my own challengers to fight today."

"Good luck, Nessa," Elios said.

There was a pause on Nessa's end. Then, "thanks, Elios."

Elios hung up just in time for a Stadium employee to poke her head through the door. "Challenger 777, Mr. Elios?"

Elios nodded.

"It's your turn, sir. Please come with me."

**XxXxXxXxX**

The one thing Elios disliked most about Galar was its Gym Challenge. Why were battles held in stadiums jam-packed with spectators and bright lights?

It was like they _wanted _Trainers to be distracted. He liked Alola's way of doing things. The Island Trials were a personal journey—everything happened between the Captains, Kahunas, and the challenger. Even the battles within the Elite Four and Champion took place in the private confines of the Pokemon League, though they were broadcasted live.

The crowd surrounding him was cheering so loudly Elios couldn't hear himself think. Milo stood tall and firm in front of him with his arms crossed over his broad chest. The man looked unmovable and completely unfazed by the ruckus—as if the cries of the crowds bounced off his abnormally large muscles.

"First time?" Milo asked, with a friendly smile.

Elios nodded.

"No Dynamax Band, I see," Milo said. "That's good. I like organic battles. I won't Dynamax either, then."

"No thank you," Elios said. "Don't hold back for my sake."

Elios was stacking the odds against himself, but if he only cared about winning, he would have brought six Pokemon instead of two.

Milo grinned. "A _real _challenger. Now that's what I like to see. What's your name, kid?"

"Elios."

There was a spark of recognition in Milo's eyes. "Nessa was bragging about you the other day. Let's see why she likes you so much. Prepare yourself, Elios. Let's battle!"

The lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and Milo tossed a Pokeball in between them. A Grossifleur as tall as his knee landed on the ground, using its stubby arms to adjust its oversized flower hat.

Elios closed his eyes and concentrated. In the darkness, the screams and shouts of the crowd became a dull and muffled whisper against his ears. Right now, all that mattered was him and Dee. He gripped Dee's Pokeball in his hand. Memories came rushing back. How many years ago was it, when he'd been in the exact same position with Popplio back in Melemele Island?

_You ready, Dee?_

The Pokeball pulsed.

Elios opened his eyes. He could feel the blood coursing through his veins, and the cries of the crowd rattled his eardrums as they matched the beat of his pounding heart.

"Show them what we're made of, Dee!"

His Corvisquire burst forth from its Pokeball, spreading its black-tipped wings as it let loose a proud caw.

Milo wasted no time. "Grossifleur, Rapid Spin!"

Elios was prepared. He hadn't spent all that time in the waiting room doing nothing. He had watched every single match before him. Milo was predictable. He alternated his starting move with every Challenger, and Elios already knew that the Gym Leader would be more aggressive this battle. Before his opponent could even finish his sentence, Elios shouted a command of his own.

"Dee, dodge into the sky! Then prepare to use Pluck!"

The Grossifleur curled its body into a wheel and barrelled towards Dee, who hopped high into the air to avoid the attack. From what Elios had seen, Milo's Grossifleur only knew three attacks. Rapid Spin was the most dangerous. The temporary boost to Grossifleur's speed would make it harder for Dee to land attacks—while making it easier for Grossifleur.

In his journey to become Champion, and the many subsequent years he'd spent defending his title, Elios had learned something important. Researching moves and preparing for them was just as important as it was for Pokemon.

The Grossifleur decelerated and Elios spotted his chance. Rapid Spin had significant end-lag—Grossifleur would need to straighten its body and re-orientate itself to its surroundings.

"Now, Dee! Pluck!"

Dee dived toward its opponent beak-first.

"Dodge!" Milo said.

But Grossifleur was still shaking its head, trying to clear away the dizzying effects of Rapid Spin. Dee's beak slammed into Grossifleur and sent it flying back to Milo.

A wall of sound that erupted from the crowd slammed into Elios and he physically recoiled. Silently, he cursed when he saw Grossifleur get back up unsteadily. He'd missed the chance for a follow-up attack. The moment of distraction had cost him the advantage—they were back into a neutral battle state.

Milo levelled a look at him, a whole new expression on the man's face. The friendly smile was gone, replaced by tightly pressed lips. "I don't believe in beginner's luck. So either you have good instincts, or you know exactly what you're doing."

"Dee, Hone Claws."

Elios didn't believe in chatting in the middle of a battle. Their words were supposed to be exchanged through their Pokemon alone. If Milo was offering a free chance to gain the advantage, then who was he to say no?

When Dee started sharpening its claws, Milo's eyes widened. "It's the latter then. Grossifleur, Magical Leaf!"

Elios resisted the urge to smile. Victory was his. Grossifleur launched a barrage of leaves that flew in the air like knives toward Dee.

Magical Leaf was an attack that never missed; the leaves would keep chasing Dee until they hit.

"Dee, charge straight into the leaves. Tackle that Grossifleur."

Why waste time dodging and weaving to delay the inevitable? Grossifleur was already weakened by the earlier Pluck. He saw through Milo's strategy as easily as day. Have Dee waste time evading Magical Leaf so Grossifleur could regain some strength. Magical Leaf had an even longer end-lag than Rapid Spin—Grossifleur needed to regrow the leaves it shed, leaving it vulnerable to even a straightforward attack like Tackle.

Dee didn't hesitate. It followed his command to the letter, rushing head-first into the incoming vortex of leaves. The leaves left numerous shallow cuts on it, but otherwise didn't impede Dede in the slightest.

"Dodge!" Milo yelled. But Grossifleur couldn't move in time.

Dee rammed into its opponent with its shoulder, and both Pokemon tumbled onto the ground.

His Pokemon got up. Milo's didn't.

The Gym Leader recalled his fainted Pokemon, nodding his head in acceptance. "Sure seems like you've trained your Pokemon real well. Grossifleur was completely outplayed." Then he grinned. "This is gonna be a doozy of battle! I'll have to Dynamax my Pokemon if I want to win!"

As Milo's Dynamax Band shined and his Pokeball ballooned in size, Elios took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Dee landed in front of him, covered with cuts and bruises taken from Magical Leaf. The real battle began here.

"Can you still fight, Dee?"

The Corvisquire nodded and chirped. Frosmoth would have to wait.

"Show them we're as tough as weeds, Eldegoss! Prepare yourself, Elios! You're about to be uprooted!"

The Eldegoss that burst forth from the Dynamax-inflated Pokeball was the size of a small house. It wore a cloak made from leaves and had a headfull of cotton-made hair that was several times its body's size. A low, rumbling growl escaped its lips that added to the cacophony of screams and shouts from the spectator stands.

"Fly low, Dee. Aim for the body. Its hair is mainly empty space, so attacks won't do much damage if you aim high."

His Corvisquire leaped forward into a low glide.

Elios had gotten Gloria to show him several battles involving Dynamax-ed Pokemon she'd saved on her phone. He'd done the rough calculations—Dynamax-ed Pokemon were generally twice as tough and strong as regular Pokemon.

Dee couldn't win. Not on its own.

"Eldegoss, Magical Leaf!" Over a dozen leaves bigger than Elios' face broke away from Eldegoss' dress.

Elios cursed. Milo had seen through his plan. Magical Leaf would apply constant pressure on Dee, preventing the faster and smaller Pokemon from applying chip damage over time. This round, there was no point taking the attack head-on. Plan B, then.

"Dee, dodge it for as long as possible! Once you get a chance, use Scary Face!"

The swarm of leaves chased after Dee like a flock of relentless hawks. Dee weaved through the air, performing one aerial stunt after the other to avoid them. All that agility training was paying off right now—but the rest was up to Dee. Elios had no choice but to trust that his Pokemon had a plan of its own to get the attack in.

Dee did a corkscrew and flew high, grazing against the roof. Just as the leaves were about to pounce on it, it furled up its wings and went into a freefall, divebombing towards the ground. Elios could hear his own heart drumming as Dee banked hard, unfurling its wings to act as brakes and then beating them desperately to hover right in front of Eldegoss' face.

For a single instant, the two Pokemon stared at each other.

"NOW!" Elios cried. "SCARY FACE!"

Elios could only see Dee's back, but he got a full view of Eldegoss' reaction. The Pokemon's face scrunched up in fear.

For a few seconds, Dee had immobilized Eldegoss. Then the leaves struck Dee and with a pained caw, his Pokemon fell from the sky. Elios winced—the power of Dynamax was incredible, overcoming the Type-disadvantage just like that.

Elios refused to let Dee's sacrifice be in vain. He had already thrown out Frosmoth's Pokeball by the time he recalled Dee.

The Ice and Bug-Type Pokemon burst out of its Pokeball with a shower of snowflakes and a cry.

"Go, Frosmoth! Use Blizzard!"

Frosmoth began flapping its wings violently. With every beat, a stronger, and colder, gust of wind was expelled. It was still unused to using Blizzard; it took a several vulnerable seconds to charge—seconds bought by Dee's Scary Face.

Milo's jaw dropped. The man obviously hadn't expected a challenger to use a top-tier move in the _first _Gym. Elios thought it was more than fair that he'd used a TM—he hadn't swelled up his Frosmoth to twenty times its normal size, after all.

"Dodge, Eldegoss!" Milo said.

The Eldegoss didn't move. Its face was still frozen in fear.

"DODGE!"

By the time the Eldegoss registered the wall of frost and snow speeding towards it, it was too late. At the very least, there was one downside to Dynamaxing—it was hard to miss an opponent the size of a house, especially if they'd been immobilized by fear.

The attack lifted Eldegoss off its feet and launched it a good distance away. Frozen blades of wind sliced into it as frigid fists battered it. When the onslaught ended, it landed on its knees, already shrinking back to its original size.

The entire Stadium was noiseless as Eldegoss collapsed face-first onto the ground, and that silence made Elios uncomfortable. He was sure he hadn't gone overboard and killed it, but that certainty was rapidly dwindling with every silent second that passed where Eldegoss didn't move.

Finally, the Eldegoss let out a soft coo.

"W-w-winner, Challenger Elios!"

Elios blinked. He hadn't even realized someone was commentating the whole battle.

Milo treaded to his fallen Eldegoss and scooped it up. As the crowed still refused to speak, Elios became more and more aware that he was supposed to be do something.

"Is…is your Eldegoss—" he said, approaching the Gym Leader.

"It's fine," Milo said, recalling his Pokemon back into its Pokeball.

Elios flinched. "I'm sorry for—"

"No," Milo said. "Don't be sorry." The man smiled—forcibly. "You did good. You won. You did what you're supposed to do. I was outplayed, even though I Dynamax-ed my Pokemon and everything. I think my pride hurts more than anything my Pokemon suffered through. Eldegoss will be fine, thank you for worrying."

Then Milo turned to the crowd. "Why is everyone so quiet? Wasn't that an incredible battle? It's my first time losing so thoroughly to someone who didn't even Dynamax their Pokemon against my own! Everyone, give him everything you've got!"

Milo slapped him on the back as the stunned crowd stirred and began clapping. A trickle of claps quickly became a torrential flood, and one man stood up among them.

Elios narrowed his eyes. _Is… is that?_

But the rest of the spectators—hundreds of them—followed suit and leaped to their feet, showering him with whistles, cheers, and applause. The first man who stood was blocked by everyone else.

Elios dismissed the disturbing thought. He must have saw wrongly. Something brushed against his chest. Milo pulled a hand away to reveal a glittering pin shaped like a leaf now stuck to his uniform.

"You did superb, Elios. I see why Nessa endorsed you now. And here I thought Leon's boys were the most promising Trainers I'd seen in a while. One day, Elios, we must have a rematch—and I will hold nothing back."

Elios nodded dumbly, his head light and his chest swelling up.

He hadn't felt like this in years.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Oh my god, Elios, you were _amazing_!" Gloria skipped and bounced next to him as they left the Stadium. Even now, several onlookers were pointing at him and whispering among each other. "I thought I did great, but you completely outclassed Milo without even Dynamax-ing! I mean, you took down his Dynamax-ed Grossifleur in one attack!"

"Blizzard is a powerful move, but Frosmoth still has a hard time using it," Elios said. "If Dee hadn't managed to get the Scary Face off in time, I might have lost the battle."

"Can I borrow that TM? I wanna teach it to Darmanitan!"

He shook his head. "Darmanitan isn't suited to learn Blizzard. It prefers using physical moves. And, that'll be too unfair. You already have a Dynamax Band. I don't. When you've made enough money from battling and PokeJobs, you can buy your own TMs."

While Gloria complained about his stinginess, Elios felt his phone vibrate.

'_Did you win?'_ Nessa had messaged.

'_Yeah,'_ he typed, and was about to hit 'send' when a thought hit him. _'I got lucky,'_ he added, then sent the message.

He looked back up, and nearly dropped his phone. He feet screeched to a halt.

_It really was him_, he thought, thinking back to that moment in the Stadium.

"Heya, Elios," the man blocking his path said. "You're a long way off from Alola, aren't you?"

He looked exactly as Elios remembered, wearing that strange, white, and pointy hat—Elios still didn't know what it was called—and a red vest. A bag was slung across his back, and he kept one hand on its strap while the other made a friendly salute. "I watched your battle. You're just as much of a cheater as before, using a dirty trick like a TM to make your Frosmoth stronger than it should be."

Gloria stepped forward but Elios stuck an arm out to stop her from saying or doing anything rash. The man was one of the few people Elios could call a close friend, and he knew everything was said in good jest.

"And you're a long way off from Hoenn. What are you doing here, Brendan?"

The man grinned and showed off the back of his hand. A diamond ring glittered on one of his fingers. "May and I got married. We're on our honeymoon."

"Brendan, I can't find—Oh! Elios, you're right here!" a new voice said.

May strolled up a threw up a big wave. The ever-bubbly girl still tied her hairband into a ribbon and was wearing her usual tank top and bicycle shorts. "Who's this little girl?" she asked, bending down in front of Gloria.

"My student," Elios said. "Gloria, this is May and Brendan. They're friends of mine."

"Hi," Gloria said. And then the girl shifted closer to Elios. She was becoming shy again.

"My, Elios, I never thought you of all people would teach a student," May said. She turned to Gloria. "We're from Hoenn, and we're friends with Elios because he freeloaded at our house for weeks just a few months back! Just kidding! We invited him, of course. We've known your teacher for a _long _time."

Gloria shifted so close she was practically hiding behind him.

"We watched your battle too, Gloria," Brendan said, with that dazzling smile of his. "We thought you were great. Really smart of you to use Drizzile's Water Pulse to confuse all of Milo's Pokemon. We'd be delighted if you could join us for a drink. With Elios, of course. Don't you two want to celebrate you first Gym Badge? It's a big first step for any Trainer."

Elios raised an eyebrow when Brendan's encouraging words worked. Gloria slid out of his shadow and nodded. "Okay."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios was glad Gloria had somewhat warmed up to May and Brendan, and turned back to his Hoenn counterparts as Gloria's figure disappeared behind the washroom door.

May's smile dropped instantly.

"Seriously, Elios? Leaving a girl all alone to fight a Shiftry? I can't believe you! You know, not everyone's like you and Brendan. It's not normal for teenagers to fight against villain groups and go face-to-face with Legendaries!"

Elios sighed. Gloria and her blabbering mouth. "I'm not suited to taking care of kids. Maybe she's better off without me."

"No, not at all," Brendan said. "Did you see how she was clinging onto your pants just now? She trusts you, Elios. She believes you can protect her, even if you messed up this one time. And May, don't you remember when we were her age? We had our own fair share of dangerous encounters."

"And that was enough for a lifetime," May said. "Now when I think about it, it's insane! We were _sixteen_ when you fought against Team Aqua and Team Magma!"

Elios perked up when Brendan mentioned the two Teams. "Did you ever catch Archie and Maxie by the way? We couldn't find them when they escaped."

Brendan shook his head. "Still no sign of them. I would have thought after what happened with Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon andMega-Rayquaza, they would stop trying to mess with Legendaries. Guess some people don't learn their lesson, do they?"

"You better not be one of those people, Elios. No more leaving that poor girl alone in the forest at night, got it?"

Darn, his attempt to change the subject hadn't worked. "Got it, May."

"It's fine, May. Everything worked out in the end," Brendan said. "I have to say though, Elios. You're looking a lot happier than when you left Hoenn. You were moping around and sulking so much. I don't think I saw you smile while you were staying with us, but you were grinning the whole time in that Stadium."

Had he? He could almost feel another smile coming up just thinking about it. The glint from Brendan's wedding ring caught his attention. "Never mind me, Brendan. So, you finally popped the question. Congratulations.

Brendan smiled sheepishly. "About that…"

"It was me!" May said, shaking her Soda Pop angrily. "_I_ had to ask him! Brendan's just like his father—he only cares about his job and Pokemon, so _I _had to man up and ask him! We tried inviting you to the wedding, but nobody in Alola knew where'd you gone."

Elios shrugged. "I didn't want anyone following me."

Brendan laughed. "You know, we picked Galar because it was the furthest place we could think of—and May's always wanted to see Dynamax-ed Pokemon ever since she first heard about them. We didn't expect to run into you here. In the middle of a Gym Challenge, no less. When you said you wanted to start over, this isn't what I thought you meant."

"It's been…" Elios paused, trying to find the right word, "…nice."

"It must be, huh," Brendan said, leaning back into his seat. "Honestly, exploring Hoenn with my team during the Gym Challenge was the best time of my life. Maybe I should follow your lead, Elios. Dump this job to someone like Wally and just start over somewhere new."

"I recommend it," Elios said, raising a glass. "Ten out of ten experience."

"What do you think, May?" Brendan said. "You had so much fun completing your PokeDex the last time. Why not do it again somewhere else?"

"Don't tempt me, Brendan," May said. "But we have things to do, and I need to take over Dad's—I mean, Professor Birch's—laboratory soon."

Brendan sighed. "Yeah, and Wally's never going to accept the role of Champion unless I lose to him fairly and squarely. Still waiting for that to happen."

_That sounds familiar_, Elios thought, thinking of Hau. But he kept quiet.

"Speaking of fairly and squarely," Brendan said. "Elios, how about a rematch? For old times' sake—your win against me the last time doesn't count. Me and May against you and Gloria. We'll go easy, of course. No Mega-Evolutions."

"See what I mean?" May said. "The only thing in his mind is Pokemon and battling!"

"May sounds against it," Elios pointed out.

"I didn't say that," May said, adjusting her hairband. "I'm in. I want to see what you've been teaching that girl."

It was just Elios' bad luck that Gloria chose that time to return to the table.

"What?" she asked. "Why's everyone staring at me?"

"Gloria," May said, smiling brightly. "Newlyweds Brendan and May would like to battle. What do you say?"

Elios groaned. May was being sly. Gloria was in a post-victory euphoria, eager to test her skills against anyone and everyone.

"Sure! I want to see how far my Pokemon and I have come!"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Exactly as Elios predicted, he and Gloria lost. Soundly. Humiliatingly.

He never expected to win of course, especially since Gloria was wholly unversed in the intricate and completely different world of Double-Battling. But he'd cemented his fate the moment he'd chosen his Galar team instead of his Alolan one, and the small scowl on Brendan's face at the end told him that even the other man knew it was an unworthy victory.

Still, Elios saw the whole thing as a win. Fighting against Brendan's Blaziken and May's Swampert had been an enlightening experience for Gloria, and for Frosmoth and Dee.

The day was over, and Elios had parted from his friends hours ago, but Gloria still sat in front of the campfire with a sullen look on her face. Elios had to admit, seeing how confident she'd been after earning one Gym Badge had been entertaining in its own right.

"We got destroyed," Gloria said.

"Yes," Elios said, calmly. "We did."

"They're strong. The way Brendan handles his Pokemon…it kinda reminds me of you, Elios. Are all Hoenn Trainers this strong?"

Odd. May had said the same thing when they'd first met.

"No," Elios said. "Brendan's the strongest of them all. That's why he's the Champion."

He took a sip of his curry and frowned. Too salty. Gloria had been in no mood to cook this evening, so he'd had no choice but to—

"WHAT!?"

"Gloria, don't throw your curry on the ground like that. I know it's not very nice, but you shouldn't waste—"

"Brendan's _the Champion _of the Hoenn region?"

"Yeah," Elios said. "You didn't know? He's pretty famous. Saved the world once or twice, I think."

Elios waited for Gloria's mouth to close. Instead, she raised a shaking finger at him.

"Brendan's the Hoenn Champion and…you've _beaten _him before?"

"Yeah," Elios said. "That was a couple years ago. But I kind of cheated, so we don't really count it."

He smiled fondly as he recalled that battle. After all, his victory had only been guaranteed because back then, Brendan hadn't a clue that Z-moves existed.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Finally, that's one Gym Badge down! What did you think of the cameos done by the MCs of the ORAS games? I still remember playing those games a few years back—and I shipped the boy char with May so badly (I played Brendan, of course), that I wished that we have some kind of idea how their relationship turned out post-game.**

**But yes! I've decided that this fic shouldn't just be limited to Alola and Galar. The whole Pokemon universe is way too fun and interesting. Do let me know your thoughts on this most recent chapter and its developments, and just as importantly, my writing!**

**Also, for those wondering what fast-paced, non-turn-based Pokemon battles are like, I'm loosely basing the Battles based on my knowledge of Smash Ultimate. That's where you'll see terms like end lag, neutral, disadvantage/advantage come in. I'll try not to make them sound too alien.**

**As always, Reviews, Comments, Favs, Follows, Likes, and PMs go a long way in encouraging the next chapter to be updated soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Isle of Armor DLC, woot woot! **

**Chapter 11:**

"Don't stare, Gloria. It's rude," Elios said, staring at the clearing.

"But it's Bea! She's one of the Gym Leaders. What's she doing here?" Gloria whispered. "And you're totally staring, too!"

"I'm not staring, I'm observing," Elios said. "And it looks like she's… training?"

Elios wasn't sure. He could see how engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a Machop, Machoke, and a Machamp simultaneously would be a physical challenge. He just couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation whyanyone would want to do that to themself.

"Maybe she's being attacked," Gloria said, unclipping a Pokeball. "We should help her."

Elios doubted any Gym Leader would find themself 'attacked' in such a safe area of the Wild Area. And even if Bea was, Elios saw no reason to intervene yet. "Look, she's winning."

A kick by Bea sent the Machop skidding backward even though it raised its arms to block. Elios could feel his eyebrows rising. The short, bushy-haired girl was deceptively strong. Then he saw the Machoke rush toward her, and she expertly dropped to a crouch and swung her leg to sweep the larger Pokemon off its feet.

The Machop fell flat on its butt.

"Okay," Bea suddenly called, and the last Machamp relaxed its stance. "We're taking a break." She helped her other two Pokemon up, and they made their way toward a campsite Elios missed earlier. Because, well, there had been other things to look at.

"Oh, she really was training," Gloria said. "I guess that's one way to train Fighting Type Pokemon. But that's, like, super hard, right?"

Before Elios could reply, Bea turned her head in their direction. "If the two of you hiding behind the bushes would like to join us for a meal, I wouldn't mind the company."

Gloria squeaked and ducked even deeper into the shrubbery.

Elios stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. We couldn't help but watch. You have a unique way of training."

He would have called it crazy. But Bea was a Gym Leader—one of Galar's more popular ones—so who was he to judge?

Bea tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at him. "You're Elios, right? Challenger 777?"

Elios took a step back. "Erm. Yes, I am."

"Milo sent me a video of his battle with you and asked if I knew who you were. For your first Gym Battle, you were impressive."

So _that _was how she'd recognized him. "Thank you."

"Come. We're not in the Wild Area, not the Gym. No need to be so formal. Have a bite with me," Bea said, nudging her head toward her tent, where her Pokemon were resting around a campfire.

Elios nodded and tried loosen his tense muscles. He wasn't being formal because she was a Gym Leader. Bea walked with a straight back, spoke curtly and sharply, and stood as if she was expecting a fight. After seeing her sweep the floor against a Machoke, Elios thought it was expected of him to feel a little uptight around her.

It was one thing to be scared of a Trainer, but being scared of a human being was a different matter.

"C'mon, Gloria," Elios said, talking to the bush behind him. "We have to eat soon anyway."

The leaves parted and Gloria climbed through. "Hi Bea," Gloria said, throwing a weak wave. "C-c-can you sign my League Card?"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Bea's curry had a surprisingly sweet taste to it. She was taking a few days off from the Gym to prepare for an upcoming battle.

"Against whom?" Elios asked.

Bea looked down at her food. "The Champion, Leon."

At seeing Gloria stare at her starry-eyed, Bea shook her head. "It's just an exhibition match. We won't be using our full teams or Dynamax-ing our Pokemon. But I'll take any win I can get over him."

"Have you beaten him before?" Elios asked and, at seeing her face sour, immediately wished he hadn't.

"No."

"Leon's too strong, isn't he?" Gloria said. If she was trying to comfort Bea, it didn't work. The Gym leader clenched her fists and looked even more frustrated.

"If I can find a way around his Charizard, I'm sure…I'm sure…"

Bea sigh as she trailed off. Even she knew that beating Leon wasn't as easy as defeating his flagship Pokemon. Elios, out of curiosity, had read up on Leon. Like him, Leon kept a well-balanced team. Charizard's Flying Type gave it an advantage over Bea's Fighting Type Pokemon, but that was hardly her only obstacle. His Dragapult and Aegislash were Ghost-Types, meaning that all of Bea's Pokemon wouldn't be able use their more powerful moves against them.

Elios silently ate his food while Bea poked at hers. Specializing with one Type of Pokemon, as most Gym Leaders tended to do, might create teams that were easier to train, but they also ended up being teams that were easier to counter. He had once swept through Hala's entire Fighting-centric team with only one Pokemon, though that was a bit of a special case. The Kahuna hadn't been pleased after that.

"I know!" Gloria suddenly said. "If you need help training, Elios can help you! He has a Charizard too!"

Elios dropped his spoon into his curry. By the time he looked at Gloria, the girl had already realized her mistake and was covering her mouth.

Bea was now looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. The gaze quickly turned curious, and then contemplative.

Elios sincerely hoped that Bea was adept at reading facial expressions and could tell that he was uncomfortable with this idea.

"I know it's a little bit too much to ask, but…" Bea said, looking straight at him. "If you'd be willing to help me, I'd be very grateful."

**XxXxXxXxX**

When Charizard landed with an earth-trembling thud and saw Bea standing across it, the winged-lizard Pokemon craned its neck to look at him. Elios jabbed a finger at Gloria's direction, who at least had the decency to look guilty while she sat with her Pokemon, watching from the comfort of the campsite. Frosmoth and Dee sat in front of her; Elios wanted them to watch, so at least his team could benefit _some _way from Gloria's little slip of the tongue.

At worst, Elios considered this payback for the Shiftry incident.

"You held back against Milo," Bea said. "A Charizard would have been able help you clear his Gym quite easily."

"Hence why I didn't field it," Elios said.

Bea continued studying his Pokemon. "I remember now. You're the Trainer Nessa endorsed. She spoke very highly of you. She mentioned you were from Kanto back then."

Elios sighed and brought a hand to his face. Just how many people had Nessa told?

"If you ever meet me in the Gym Challenge," Bea continued. "I caution you not to hold back."

Elios had every intention of holding back, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he dropped his gaze to the Ultra Ball in Bea's hand.

"Of course," she said. "We'll get right to it. Go, Machamp!"

Elios gulped. This wasn't an ordinary Trainer Battle, or even an ordinary Gym Battle. He would be fighting a Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon. He had the advantage, but Elios was sure Bea would have a few tricks up her sleeves from her preparation against Leon's Charizard.

He wasn't going to go so far as to Mega-Evolve, but he did have to be a bit more careful.

Bea's Machamp landed on the ground, flexing its four arms as it cried out.

At finally seeing its foe, Charizard let out a defiant roar.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Charizard lapped up its reward with gusto. Bea had graciously cooked up another serving of curry for it after the battle.

"I lost," Bea said. "I understand why Milo said to watch out for you now. You're not a rookie."

He watched the Gym leader feed her exhausted Machamp a few berries. Bea was a good Gym Leader. She stuck to her fundamentals, understood the flow and rhythm of Pokemon Battling, and drilled an unparalleled sense of discipline and tactics into her Machamp. She was a spectacular Trainer, and a single glance at her Machamp was enough for Elios to know that.

But she was also very predictable.

"You knew I was going to use Rock Slide from the very start," Bea said, shaking her head.

Of course Elios had. Charizard's greatest weakness was Rock-Type. He had accordingly prepared for it, and had asked Charizard to use a Focus Blast to destroy the flurry of rocks Machamp had hurled at it at the start of the battle.

"It was a lucky guess," he said. At the end of the day, even at the highest-level of Battling, luck was critical. Trainers were constantly trying to out-read each other's plans to the point that a random move could be as effective as one planned five steps in advance. But it wasn't just luck, of course—otherwise Elios was the luckiest man in the whole of Alola. He'd fought enough battles to know which Pokemon could learn what moves, and Machamp's heavy arsenal of Rock-Type moves pointed to a certain likely outcome.

From there, things had only gone downhill for Bea. Charizards were rare in Galar, and Bea seemed to only have experience fighting Leon's. Unfortunately, his Charizard and Leon's had different fighting styles—Leon had his get in up close and personal, while Elios preferred relying on Charizard's flight and bombarding the opponent with ranged attacks.

Once its Rock Slide was proven to be ineffective, the slow and large Machamp never stood a chance.

"I don't believe in luck, I just need to get stronger." Bea turned to her Pokemon. "_We _need to get stronger."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Elios said. He called back Charizard, seeing that it had finished its food. "It was never a fair matchup to begin with."

"Hard work and strategy can overcome any disadvantage," Bea said.

Elios couldn't argue with that. Unfortunately, Leon was also the Champion, and nobody became a Champion by being lazy and stupid.

But he wasn't here to discourage Bea. "When a Charizard uses Flamethrower, you shouldn't attack it. It might look immobile, but it's actually the opposite. The stream of fire can act as a jet that allows Charizard to disengage even quicker. Then you'll overextend and end up in a disadvantageous position. Wait for the Flamethrower to end. It'll take time for the Charizard's flames to regain their intensity."

Bea looked up and her wide, long-lashed eyes blinked at him. "I didn't know that."

He shrugged. "I'd assume most Charizard Trainers try to keep it a secret."

"And you're telling me because…"

"Because I taught my Charizard Fire Blast."

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you bring any other Pokemon from Kanto?"

"No," Elios said. It wasn't a lie, technically, since his Ninetails was Alolan.

"A shame," Bea said. "If you had a full team of Pokemon like your Charizard, you could probably give Leon a run for his money."

"It's fine," Elios said. "I don't intend on challenging him for the title of Champion anyway."

Bea stood up. "Why not? If you trained your Frosmoth and Corvisquire to be as strong as your Charizard, I'm sure you'd be strong enough. Add a few other Pokemon to your team, and I think it'd be tough for _any _Gym Leader to defeat you."

He laughed. "I don't intend on staying here forever. I have to go back home some day."

Bea's disappointment was visible. "I see. And your student?" She nudged her head at Gloria, who had gotten pumped up after watching the battle, and was in the middle of training her Darmanitan and Drizzile.

"Gloria? I'm sure by the time I leave, she'll be plenty strong. Maybe she'll be the one to beat Leon."

Elios watched Gloria train her Pokemon. She'd already come a long way in the few weeks they'd been travelling together. Bea, sitting next to him, watched him closely, and Elios didn't want to risk any awkwardness so he pretended not to notice.

"With someone like you training her, that might very well be the case," Bea said, finally turning away. "I've only met you for less than two hours and I've learned many things—and I'm a Gym Leader."

"There's always something to learn from someone," Elios said, shrugging. "I've learned things from Gloria too."

It was scary how knowledgeable Gloria was at certain things, actually. Without her, his life in the Wild Area would've been near unliveable.

"And me?" Bea asked, sounding skeptical. "You haven't learned anything from me, have you?"

"I have. I've learned… to never underestimate how strong a person can be if they push themself."

Bea raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? I never thought it was possible to beat a Machop in hand-to-hand combat. Aren't they several times stronger than the average person?"

"Physical strength isn't everything," Bea said. "With proper technique, timing, and tactics, you can turn their strength against them."

"Just like with Pokemon Battling," Elios remarked.

"Yes, exactly like with Pokemon Battling."

"Good luck with your battle against Leon, Bea," Elios said, standing up. "I'll be cheering for you."

"Thank you, Elios. It was a pleasure meeting you. And thank you for everything. I don't think it'll be enough to make up for the gap between me and Leon, but you didn't have to help me."

_Thank Gloria_, Elios thought.

"Here, I want you to take my League Card," Bea continued, handing him something shiny, flat, and rectangular. He didn't take a good look at it before pocketing it because Bea was still staring at him as if she still had something to say.

"And…" she broke into a small smile, the first one he'd seen on her face the whole day, "I'll be waiting for you at Stow-on-Side's Gym. I'll be prepared for your Charizard, so you'd better not hold back."

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Elios, why are you so quiet? Are you still mad at me? I said I was sorry!" Gloria's high-pitched voice shook Elios out from his thoughts.

He looked down at the girl, who was looking at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"I'm not mad anymore," he said. "I was just thinking."

Then he remembered something. He pulled out the League Card Bea had given him earlier.

"Oh!" Gloria said. "You have hers too? I got mine by trading—wait. Yours is different…"

Elios looked at the card. It was a picture of Bea, in her Gym Leader uniform, grinning at the camera.

"Wait a minute! That's her _rare _League Card! Bea's smiling in that one, and she almost _never _smiles in public. And she signed it, too! I'm so jealous—why are you always so lucky?"

Elios flipped the card around. Scrawled in black ink was Bea's name. Below that, her mobile number.

He blinked and quickly stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Quiet, Gloria," he said. "The Pokemon I want to catch is shy, so no more talking."

Gloria pouted, but she nodded anyway.

Elios shelved the thoughts of Bea to the back of his mind. The most troublesome Gym Leader was the one he had to battle next.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Not gonna lie, I'm still on the fence as to what Pokemon should help Elios win against Nessa. I'm stuck between two options right now, so you'll really have to wait until the next chapter to find out. On that note, your thoughts on the chapter are always appreciated in reviews/comments/PMs, and every like, follow, fav goes a long way in encouraging me to write the next chapter a little faster. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I guess Sonia and Leon are a thing now? (If you don't get it, watch the latest Twilight Wings). That'll actually be a pretty interesting concept in this story. Sonia+Leon and Nessa+Elios… hmmm… I see potential, just not sure how best to flesh it out.**

**Chapter 12:**

Elios had forgotten that Gloria, having just started out her Trainer journey, was strapped for cash. She'd managed to scrimp by these past few weeks by relying on the natural bounty of the Wild Area, but she'd also insisted on paying for train tickets and supplies on her own.

She was out of money.

Elios remembered his beginning days as a rookie Trainer. Back then, his Pokemon weren't strong enough to win in contests, so he'd needed to rely on odd jobs and treasure hunting to survive—ridding resorts of invading Pyukumuku , combing caves and beaches for Nuggets and Pearls, even going door-to-door asking people if they had anything he could help with.

Times had changed, or maybe Galar was just more advanced; Gloria had logged on to the nearest Rotom Terminal, scrolled through the list of job postings, and found a suitable one within two minutes.

It was a simple job, one that had required them to return to Turffield. A farmer's dyke had partially collapsed in a recent thunderstorm, causing his irrigation canals to overflow. Gloria's job was to repair the structure and drain his flooded fields. She'd estimated it would take a day at longest.

It was a hot day, and Elios had chosen a cozy spot underneath a tree to watch Gloria and her Pokemon work. The farm wasn't very big—it was smaller than Turffield Stadium, which stood in the distance, and was made up of a few fields and an apple orchard next to the stream that led to Turffield City. The owner was a retired principal who lived off his crops and sold the excess in the local market every weekend.

Gloria and Darmanitan were busy fixing the dyke and the irrigation canals. They'd already cleared out the collapsed portions and were currently lifting large rocks to reinforce the structure. The small mountain of boulders at the side told Elios they weren't even close to done with this part of the job.

A jet of water shot over their heads. Drizzile was tasked with clearing out the many pools of water left in the fields. It was an interesting process to watch: pool after pool, the amphibian Pokemon would slurp it up, causing its mouth to swell up several times, and send it back to the nearby stream with a Water Pulse.

If nothing else, Gloria had found an interesting way of training Drizzile.

Speaking of training Pokemon… Elios unclipped a Pokeball from his belt. With a click, he rolled it onto the ground.

If he were standing up, the Pokemon that popped out would have barely reached his knees, and only because of the conical protrusion on its head shaped like a party hat. The rest of its body was pink and small, with round and stubby feet, and a blue wig-like feature that covered its eyes and trailed the ground like big, flappy ears.

Elios had to admit, out of all the Pokemon he'd seen in his life, Hatenna ranked the highest on the cuteness chart.

But he forced down the urge to pat its head—the last time he'd gotten overexcited, the little Pokemon had bounded toward its Pokeball and then used its flaps to try prying open the thing. It had been a very endearing display of shyness—one of the few times he'd seen a Pokemon so eager to return into its Pokeball— until his Pokeball was torn in half.

Now, Elios knew better than to flare his emotions around it. He let out a soft whistle and beckoned at it.

Hatenna tilted its head at him, and because its body was almost entirely its head, it meant standing on one leg and raising the other into the air. Then it waddled toward him.

Elios wasn't exactly sure what to do with this one. With Dee, it had been easy once he'd learned to use its stubborn streak to motivate it. Frosmoth had been even easier—the Pokemon did everything it was asked to do without complaint. Somehow, Elios had a feeling Hatenna's preferred method of training was none at all.

It curled into his lap and began to doze off.

So far, Elios hadn't managed to get it to do anything other than sleep and eat. It had a troublesome mix of rebelliousness and shyness; if he tried speaking to it with a level voice, it wouldn't listen, the moment he showed any kind of annoyance, it would run away or break its Pokeball. If Elios didn't bother chasing after it, it could take up to an hour before it came wobbling back on its own.

He sighed. Hatenna was the perfect Pokemon to keep as a pet—he was sure his mother, or even Lily, would enjoy keeping and pampering it—but Elios knew that it had so much more potential if he could evolve it into a Hatterene.

A yawn left his lips. He could worry about this later. He was in no rush to tackle Nessa's Gym. Hatenna let out a soft purr where she slept, and Elios closed his eyes. There were worse times and places for him to take a nap.

"Elios!"

He let out a grunt of pain when Hatenna's cone-hat-thingy, which was a lot harder than it looked, smacked into his chin as the Pokemon was jolted awake from its nap.

Gloria was running toward him, waving cheerily. Then she finally caught sight of Hatenna and she screeched to a stop and covered her mouth.

But it was too late; the damage had been done. It let out a little squeak and started running away on its stubby legs.

"Sorry," Gloria said softly, as if it weren't already too late. "I'll catch her for you."

He gave her flat look. "So, what had you running and screaming here like a madman?"

"Right. After I catch her, do you wanna join Farmer Ben and me for lunch?"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios was impressed with Farmer Ben. At first, the man didn't appear to have knowledge of Pokemon that exceeded the common man's. His outfit was perfect for his job, with a red flannel shirt and suspenders, together with a straw hat covering his balding head to complete the image. But when Elios walked into his home, and the man caught sight of the Hatenna sitting atop his head, his voice dropped to a whisper.

"Welcome. I'll get the food ready for you. It's potato and apple season, so I hope you and Hatenna like those."

"His daughter's a Trainer," Gloria supplied helpfully.

A soft snore came from the corner of the room. An aged Herdier was asleep on a cushion. To his surprise, Hatenna hopped off his head and made its way to it. When the canine Pokemon cracked an eyelid open and lifted up its head, Hatenna raised one of its ear-flaps to pat it. It went back to sleep.

Elios raised an eyebrow. _So it's friendly with other Pokemon? _He shelved that useful tidbit of information for later.

Farmer Ben brought out an apple pie surrounded by fries. His kept his words soft and level as they took a seat at the dining table. His house was simply furnished—a few photos of his family and Pokemon hung on the wall, but other than that, nothing more than the necessary furniture.

"I can't thank you enough for coming in on a Sunday," he said. "All my workers are at home and the usual Trainers I contact for repairs are busy."

"Thank you for the food," Gloria said, digging into her pie.

Elios fed a French fry to Hatenna. It gobbled it up happily.

"That's a good Pokemon you have there," Farmer Ben said. "My daughter often brags about how hers was indispensable in defeating Bea in her Gym Challenge. Of course, it was a Hatterene, by then. Very beautiful Pokemon."

Elios nodded. He could imagine so. The Psychic and Fairy Typing meant any Fighting-Type Pokemon would be at a disadvantage. "How did your daughter train hers?" he asked.

"With lots of patience and diligence." The man chuckled. "It was a nightmare. The first few weeks, she kept needing to chase it around because it was so frightened of everything. I think it took half a year before she could send it out to battle. And then another half-year before it evolved into Hattrem. But it gets easier once it evolves into Hattrem—except for the temper tantrums, of course."

Elios paled at the thought of waiting half a year before Hatenna was battle-ready.

"One year?" Gloria said. "That's a really long time."

"Not really," Farmer Ben said. "It took my daughter almost a decade to complete her Gym Challenge. Now she's a teacher at a Trainer School."

"A decade!" Gloria said, and immediately covered mouth. Her loud voice had startled Hatenna, and Elios had to grab it before it could dash out of the room.

"Well, her Pokemon didn't make things any easier for her," Farmer Ben said. The man pointed a finger at the sleeping Herdier. "None of them were as well-behaved as ol'Growdy here. You're on your Gym Challenge too, aren't you? How many badges you got?"

"One," Gloria said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"That's not too bad for a girl your age. When'd you start?"

"About a month ago?"

Farmer Ben's mouth dropped. He glanced at Hatenna, and then leaned forward and whispered, "a month!?"

Gloria nodded.

Farmer Ben looked at Elios. "You're her teacher, right? You must be one heck of a teacher. It takes most people six months to a full year between their badges."

Elios shrugged. "She's worked hard."

Farmer Ben let out another hearty chuckle. "My daughter worked hard, too—still took her eight years." He flashed Gloria a grin. "You must be talented."

"I—…Thank you," Gloria said, stuffing her mouth with pie afterward.

It looked as if she still wasn't very used to being complimented. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time he praised her?

"You two sit right here," Farmer Ben said, "I'll grab some dessert. It's nothing too fancy—it's just apples from the orchard out back, I'm afraid. But they're sweet as sugar, I'll tell you. Pokemon get drawn to them all the time."

Farmer Ben returned about a minute later with a basket of apples. Gloria picked one up, and then screamed.

Hatenna had wriggled itself into Elios' shirt, and once he yanked her out, he fixed Gloria a look. The girl was staring at her apple as if it'd committed murder.

"What's wrong?" Farmer Ben asked.

Gloria pointed at her apple.

Elios stared at it. The apple stared back. And then it blinked.

_Those aren't leaves_, Elios realized. They were eyes. A green tail wriggled out of a hole in the apple.

"Oh dear," Farmer Ben said. "Well, I do get worms from time to time, but I've never seen one so big before."

"No, that's not a worm," Gloria said. Her eyes widened and she grinned. "That's a Pokemon. That's an Applin. It's a super rare Pokemon that likes burrowing into apples."

She picked the apple up, causing the entrenched Pokemon to withdraw back into the safety of the fruit. "I've never seen one before! You can keep it as a pet, Farmer Ben. Lots of people do, and it'll be super easy for you since you already have an apple orchard."

Farmer Ben scratched his chin. Then he chuckled. "Tell you what, Gloria. If you finish fixing up my farm before sunset, I'll give this Apple-y Pokemon to you, along with the money I owe. How about that?"

Gloria's eyes shined. "Really?"

Farmer Ben nodded. "Farmer's word."

"DEAL!" Gloria cried. And then she was out the door.

Elios sighed at her over-enthusiasm—Hatenna had dashed out at the same time.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios glanced behind him. Gloria was working harder than before with Darmanitan, nearly running to and fro the stream and the decreasing pile of stones. Good, she would be too busy to make a ruckus.

Elios turned back to his Ninetails. "I'll be counting on you."

The Ninetails let out a soft huff, expelling a breeze of snow crystals from its snout.

He let Hatenna out. The Pokemon stumbled out of its new Pokeball as if it had just woken up. When it caught sight of Ninetails, it stiffened, then relaxed when it realized the comparatively gigantic Pokemon wasn't a foe.

Elios knew no better Pokemon for the job. His Ninetails had the best temperament to deal with Hatenna. It lied down, pressing its snout against the grass to be on the same level as Hatenna. The smaller Pokemon promptly started rubbing Ninetails' nose.

It sneezed, sending out a puff of frost that sent Hatenna bowling over with a yelp.

Elios was prepared to chase after Hatenna. He wasn't prepared for what Hatenna did next.

The Pokemon staggered to its feet and shook bits of ice off its body. Then it let out a whoop, and used its telekinetic abilities to smack a leaf onto Ninetails' face.

Ninetails blinked and looked up at him. Elios didn't know how to react either.

Hatenna tossed another leaf at Ninetails.

Almost reluctantly, the Ice-Fairy Pokemon blew another chilly gust at Hatenna, who squeaked as it shivered.

_So, it likes to play_? Elios shrugged at Ninetails. He could work with that.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Gloria waved goodbye to Farmer Bob, a spring in her step as they left his farm. The Sun was just starting to set.

She held an apple to her chest as if it were a newborn baby, cradling it with both arms. The Applin inside poked its eyes out for a few moments then ducked back in.

Sitting on top of his head, Hatenna let out a yawn, and he could feel its cheek pressing against his scalp as it began snoring. It had spent the whole afternoon playing with Ninetails, who had tolerated its shenanigans with graceful patience.

"I'm so happy," Gloria said. "I can't believe I have a Dragon-Type Pokemon now. They're the rarest, right? And it's Grass-Type, too—that'll be perfect against Nessa."

Elios nodded. He was busy thinking of ways to train Hatenna, now that he'd learned the secret to its motivation.

He stopped when he remembered something.

Gloria looked at him and cocked her head. "Is something wrong, Elios?"

"Nothing," he said. "Just wanted to tell you that you did well today."

Gloria blinked several times, and then reddened as she looked away.

"You really think so? I, um… Thanks, Elios."

He smiled. Still not as cute as Hatenna.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Ah. What would Pokemon be without the kind strangers you meet on your journey giving you free stuff? On that note, 3****rd**** Pokemon for Elios and Gloria revealed! The Hatterene line can learn a whole bunch of grass moves (Magical Leaf, Giga Drain, etc), which'll make it a decent counter against Nessa's team.**

**Thoughts and comments? Let me know in the form of reviews/PMs, which, in addition to Likes, Favs, and Follows, are the best form of encouragement!**

**-Patiently waiting for Crown Tundra,**

**Paulzies.**

**P.S. if a kind stranger can give me a Zarude as thanks for writing this fic, I will be a very happy Trainer.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13:**

Elios watched Gloria weigh the two apples in front of her as if they were precious relics. To him, they looked and smelled exactly the same. Somehow, Gloria could tell the difference. She brought the apple in her right hand to her face.

"If I feed Applin this, it'll evolve into a Flapple." Then she raised her other arm. "But if I feed Applin _this _apple, it'll evolve into an Appletun."

When Gloria looked up at him expectantly, he turned to the Applin sitting on a tree stump. The worm-like Pokemon had completely eaten through its original Apple and was now several times its original size. According to Gloria, that meant it was ready evolve—and had two possible evolutions based on which Apple it ate next. It blinked at Elios with its leaf-shaped eyes.

"What do I do, Elios?" Gloria asked. "I can't decide!"

He looked up. The sky was grey. It was going to rain soon, and Elios didn't like the idea of standing around in the Wild Area in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Why don't you let Applin decide?" he said. He figured, if the apple was going to become the Pokemon's permanent home, Gloria might as well let Applin choose for itself.

The girl stared at the two apples in her hands. Then she sighed and placed both of them in front of Applin on the tree stump.

Elios frowned as the Pokemon inched toward one of them.

Which evolution was that again?

**XxXxXxXxX**

Rain crashed outside. Elios let out a breath of relief. They'd dived into the cave just a few seconds before the first drops of water fell from the sky. It wasn't very deep—just a short tunnel dug into the face of a cliff, but large enough that Elios could call on his entire team if he wanted to.

"C'mon, Flapple. Fly, you can do it!" Gloria said encouragingly. "Beat your wings a little harder. Oh, and maybe try jumping while you're doing it!"

Elios warmed himself next to fire they'd made. Gloria's newest Pokemon had evolved a few minutes after eating the apple. Fascinated, he watched the Flapple try moving its wings—made of apple flesh and skin—hopping around as it did so.

Every region had a few unique Pokemon, and Elios pulled out his Rotomdex to snap a picture. This was something he had to show Mallow, once he returned to Alola. Hopefully, if she ever came across a Flapple or an Appletun of her own, she wouldn't accidentally throw it into a pot.

"I think it'll take a while before it gets used to its wings," he said. "Once it does, you can probably teach it a few Flying moves."

"Oh," Gloria said. "I didn't even think about that."

"I'm sorry, but…" a new voice said, partially drowned out by the rain. Elios turned to see a girl standing at the mouth of the cave, soaked, and still being pelted by the storm. "Can I share this cave with you two?"

"Oh my god! Come in!" Gloria exclaimed. "Of course you can! Don't stand in the rain. C'mere and sit by the fire. We'll get you warmed up and dry right away!"

The girl hurried into the cave. She looked to be about Gloria's age, and Elios shifted so she could sit right by the fire. She unzipped her jacket, and from beneath the black leather, a Pokemon he'd never seen before popped its head out.

"Come on, Morpeko. It's warm here. Say hi to our new friends…" the girl looked at them expectantly as the Morpeko—a yellow and grey rodent-like Pokemon—plopped itself by the fire.

"I'm Gloria," Gloria said. She pulled out a towel from her backpack and passed it to the girl. "Here, use this."

"Thank you," the other girl said, redirecting her gaze at him.

"Elios," he said.

The girl covered her face momentarily as she dried her hair. "I'm Marnie," she said, then looked at Gloria's Flapple, which was having a staring battle with her Morpeko. "Are you two Trainers?"

"Yeap," Gloria replied. "We just started out, though. We only have one Gym Badge."

Elios swore Marnie's eyes shined as she leaned forward. "Me too."

"Wait, so you're the same as us!"

"Yeah, I guess. I just caught my third Pokemon."

"No way! Flapple's my third Pokemon, too! This is so cool!"

Elios leaned against the rocky wall and yawned. Rain always made him feel sleepy. Even with the two girls striking up a conversation about their Pokemon and favourite Trainers, he found himself drifting off. He'd spent the whole of last night training Hatenna with Ninetails. Progress was slow with that one. Hatenna was finally getting used to using its moves, but Elios was having trouble convincing it to listen to him. He saw no point in trying to teach it new moves until he could get it to do the ones it already knew.

For now, the only thing he could do was encourage Ninetails to keep entertaining it. The games they played might be fun and directionless now, but Elios had a few ideas to add a competitive aspect to it. Hatenna, for all its shyness, had a small competitive streak to it—it didn't like it when Ninetails had the last laugh in their games. If he could just find a way to motivate it…

He fell asleep, his last thought a version of Tag that would train Hatenna's telekinetic abilities.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"I did it!"

Elios' eyes snapped open at Gloria's cheer. The rain had stopped. Sunlight streamed into the cave.

He frowned.

Where were the other two? Standing up and stretching, Elios walked out.

Drizzile and Gloria were doing a little dance. Marnie had a fainted Croagunk in front of her, which she recalled into a Dusk Ball.

"Hmph," Marnie said, scrunching up her lips. "That wasn't very fair. Your Drizzile confused all my Pokemon."

"Yeah," Gloria said, scratching the back of her head. "I got kind of lucky. But you were really good, too! You definitely would have won otherwise." Then she saw Elios. "Hey, sleepyhead. We just finished a Pokemon battle!"

Marnie nodded. "It was a close battle."

Elios looked at the two girls. At seeing Gloria's sparkling grin, he recalled that the first time they met, she hadn't won a single battle. She had been a shy mess that barely managed to ask him for a battle.

_She's come far_, he thought.

Marnie, on the other hand, was pouting. He could tell the girl was upset.

"Try giving your Pokemon some Berries to hold next time," he suggested. "That way, if they become confused, or have some other kind of status condition, they'll be able to recover quickly."

Marnie's eyes widened. "That's right. My brother said something like that, once. I forgot all about it."

"Yeah," Gloria said, nodding her head. "Elios has all kinds of cool tricks and tips. You should hang out with us more! You wanna follow us until we challenge Nessa's Gym?"

"Huh?" both Elios and Marnie said.

"We're friends now, aren't we?" Gloria said.

Marnie was visibly unprepared for that declaration. The girl stiffened and took a step back.

_Maybe don't go deciding things like that for her, Gloria_, he thought.

Then Marnie grinned and dipped her head. "Yeah. We are friends."

"So? Wanna join us?"

"I have to meet my brother after this. Sorry, Gloria. But I'm sure we'll meet again next time. And I'll be sure to beat you then."

"Ho ho," Gloria said, puffing her chest. "We'll see about that, Marnie. I'll be even more prepared!"

Elios rolled his eyes. _She wins one time, and she starts lording it._

Marnie pouted and clenched her fists. "I'll work even harder. And I'll have my Berries. Your Water Pulse trick won't work like it did this time. You'll see. After we both beat Nessa, we'll have a rematch."

The two girls shook on it.

As Gloria watched Marnie leave, she turned to Elios. "I did it, Elios!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did what? Defeat a Trainer? You've already beaten Milo before."

"Nope, that's not what I meant," Gloria said. She flashed a grin. "I made a rival!"

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Short chappie. Not sure how I can make things exciting until the Water Gym, so it'll be short and easy chapters until then. It'll mainly just be Gloria being Gloria and Elios trying to figure out his Hatenna problem.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14:**

It was a cloudless day. Hanging above him, the Sun shined painfully bright, and Elios squinted to avoid the glare. It still hurt, and it wasn't just his eyes. His whole face was in pain. His mind was still swimming. What happened?

"Elios!"

A hushed whisper came from the side. Still lying down, he turned. The simple act caused his cheek to hurt. It felt heavier than normal. He was lying by the bank of a lake. Yes, he remembered being in the Wild Area.

Gloria stared at him worriedly. She was sitting next to him, a few feet away from the water. A wet rag was in her hand. That would explain why his forehead felt moist. "Elios," she whispered again. "Are you okay? Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," he said. "What the heck—"

"Shh!" Gloria pressed a finger against her lips. Then slowly, as if she was afraid, she used that finger and pointed to the other side of his body.

His left cheek stung in particular when it brushed against the grass. Hatenna was—No.

It wasn't Hatenna. The cone-shaped hat was bigger now—much wider than before, and a mischievous face smiled at him from beneath its brim. Its arms and legs were long and thin digitless limbs attached to a doll-sized body. The Pokemon stood on two pig-tail like appendages attached to its head.

"…Hattrem?" he asked.

It nodded its head vigorously and let out a little squeal.

When had it evolved? Elios wracked his brain, ignoring the pain. The last thing he remembered was training Hatenna. He'd devised a game to teach the Pokemon Magical Leaf. Even though it wasn't Grass-Type, its telekinetic abilities let it control nearby leaves and launch them at its foe at terrifying speeds.

Elios had been trying to work on the finer aspects of the manipulation—asking it to 'catch' Ninetails with the leaves. He paused. Where was Ninetails now? He turned to the other side again, and saw the glistening Pokemon walking on the lake, freezing the water beneath it each time its paw touched the surface.

Yes. That had been part of Ninetails' training for Freeze-Dry. But what had happened with Hatenna's training—Hattrem, now?

It had evolved, that much was evident. But then what?

Elios remembered being surprised. He'd rushed up to the Hattrem, and then… and then…

"You got punched in the face, Elios," Gloria whispered. "I checked the PokeDex. Hattrem does that with its braids whenever it's disturbed by strong emotions."

Elios blinked. That explained things. Gloria was covering her mouth, but her eyes gave her grin away.

He turned back to Hattrem. The Pokemon couldn't have been more than two feet tall. He sighed. "We've got _a lot _of work to do, Hattrem."

The Pokemon squealed. It sounded a little too happy for a Pokemon that had just knocked out its Trainer. But at least now it might listen to him.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Nessa didn't know why she ever bothered showing up on time if Sonia was always going to be late. One of these days, she was going to finish everything herself before her friend arrived. She'd eaten all of the strawberries on the cake, and was now working through the chocolate-cookie crumbles sprinkled on it.

She'd already finished her drink, and there wasn't much to do until Sonia came. Sighing, she took out her phone. The next thing she knew, she was trying her best to hold in a laugh.

'_Check this out, Nessa! Elios got slugged by a two-foot tall Pokemon! :O He's fine, just very annoyed… I asked him if he wanted me to use make-up to cover up the bruise, but he said that would be too girly! :D'_

The message from Gloria was already several days old, but Nessa still found herself scrolling up to the attached photo every now and then.

The blue-black patch on Elios' cheek did ruin his boyish appearance somewhat, but Nessa found his sleeping face endearing. Despite the ugly bruise, it looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, with his lips curled into a small smile, and his hair becoming a messy mop. If Nessa had to say, he acted that way in real life as well. He had a natural curiosity for the things surrounding him, but still managed to observe the world around him with an air of aloofness. He seemed to be the type of person perfectly content with sitting back and relaxing.

That was the only explanation Nessa could come up with as to why Elios took forever to reply to her messages. These days, the only way she kept track of him was through Gloria—the girl texted back almost immediately. What would Nessa do without her?

She closed her chat with Gloria and swiped open Elios'. She had asked him if he was okay after seeing Gloria's photo. That was five days ago. He'd finally replied this morning, complaining about Gloria's big mouth—now that she knew about Hattrem, Elios had lost his element of surprise for the upcoming Gym battle.

_'She never told me it was a Hattrem, silly. But thanks for telling me, Elios_ _;)_,' she typed, then sent the message. A second later, she hoped the winky-face wasn't too much.

A Hattrem. The Hatterene line was notoriously difficult to train. She'd asked Opal about it, once. The elderly Gym Leader was a composed and strict woman who specialized in using mischievous Fairy Pokemon. Nessa didn't know if Opal had been humoring her, but she'd used an ocean analogy to explain things.

_"To train the Hatterene line, you must keep your emotions level at all times. Think of it as the sea, Nessa. It has to be calm. These Pokemon are extremely sensitive to any changes to the water. The slightest ripple will upset them. Training one of these Pokemon is more than an issue of motivation and discipline—it's a process of self-reflection and self-control as well. Always be wary if you see a Trainer capable of commanding a Hatterene, because that Trainer will also be capable of commanding themself. A person that can quell an emotional tsunami in the middle of a Pokemon Battle is always a person worthy of respect." _

Nessa remembered how Elios commanded his Charizard to dive into the choppy seas to save that drowning man—the first time she'd met him. As first impressions went, she didn't think anything else could have instilled the image of a respectable Trainer better than that.

He would definitely be able to train his Hattrem to a Hatterene—she believed in him.

She sighed. She couldn't wait to battle him.

_Sluurrrpp_.

Nessa blinked. The empty seat across her was now occupied.

"Oh, sorry," Sonia said, putting her cup down. "Did I interrupt your daydreams about Elios?"

"Sonia! When did you get here?"

"About a minute ago. I tried talking to you, but you were really out of it. Was I right about Elios?"

"No."

"Uh huh," Sonia said. "Don't you think the winky-face is a little too much?"

"Hey, give that back!" Nessa said, snatching her phone out of Sonia's hands.

Sonia beamed at her, and Nessa tried squashing the burning sensation on her face by stuffing herself with cake. _Note to self: never try training the Hatterene line_.

Sonia's glasses were perched on her nose instead of being used as an improvised hairband as usual. Did she just come from the lab? "Did you watch the exhibition match between Bea and Leon the other day? She was _this close _beating his Charizard!"

Nessa nodded. She'd been cheering for Bea, if for no other reason because she wanted to see Leon lose once. The Fighting Gym Leader's Machamp had come dangerously close to KO-ing Leon's Charizard, and Nessa had felt the sting of defeat for her when it took a surprise Flare Blitz head-on and ended up fainting.

"She must have trained very hard," Nessa said. She needed to start preparing too. She had a match of her own against Leon coming up soon. Maybe she could ask Elios for help. She didn't know anyone else with a Charizard. But Leon probably wouldn't use Charizard against her—he'd probably go with his Dragapult or Rillaboom.

Sonia nodded. "Yeah, I talked to Leon afterward. He said Bea's improved a lot from the last time. She won't tell him what happened, though. Maybe she's figured out the secret to defeating him?"

"I wish she'd share," Nessa said. But she doubted there was 'secret' to beating Leon other than being smarter, more hardworking, and luckier.

"You guys have it so easy, all you guys need to worry about is battling and training your Pokemon," Sonia grumbled. "Grandma—Professor Magnolia, I mean—has been asking me to look into the history and folklore of Galar. She says it might have something to do with Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing. So after doing some research, I'll need to start running around the region exploring ruins and looking at artifacts."

"That sounds fun," Nessa said. "It'll be like going on your Gym Challenge all over again."

Sonia groaned. "Who in their right mind would want to do a Gym Challenge _a_ _second time_?"

Nessa was about to respond when Sonia stiffened. "Sonia?"

"It's nothing, I just remembered something else," the other girl replied. "Anyway, aren't you excited? Gloria says that she and Elios should be ready to challenge your Gym within the next week. They're pretty fast, aren't they? I mean, they just defeated Milo a few weeks ago!"

Nessa frowned. They _were _fast. The first three Gyms this circuit were Grass, Water, then Fire. New Trainers would need a diverse team—or brilliant strategy—to clear all three. Elios… Elios already had a full team of six Pokemon from before, and the three more he'd caught here. Wait. She'd watched his battle with Milo. He'd only sent out Corvisquire and Frosmoth—both Pokemon he'd caught and trained in Galar.

He wasn't going to hold back and not use his proper team against her in their upcoming battle, was he?

"Nessa? You look mad," Sonia said.

"I'm just thinking about how my match with Elios is going to be like," Nessa said. "Because if he holds back against me, I will be very angry."

Sonia grinned. "And if he wins?"

"I'll still be angry," Nessa said.

Her friend's grin grew wider. Nessa recognized the look in her eyes. Sonia was hiding something from her. "So you'll be mad either way," she said. "Now I'm _really _looking forward to your battle. You know what? I might come down to watch it. Just to see what happens next."

Nessa frowned. She wondered what the big secret was. The last time Sonia wore that grin, it was because Leon asked her out. She wondered what could be just as exciting for Sonia as having the Champion saying he had a crush on her.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: I think we're all looking forward to the next chapter now. Honestly the Hatterene line has to my favourite line in Gen VIII (Aesthetically, at least).**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: This chapter took a long time because: **

**1\. It's 5k words and thus the longest chapter so far.**

**2\. Pokemon Battles are **_**hard **_**to write.**

**Without further ado, enjoy.**

**Chapter 15:**

"Lucky you, Elios," Gloria said, looking at him with barely veiled jealousy.

Elios frowned. Luck was a touchy subject among Trainers. Sometimes, attacks missed or left an additional effect on their targets. Sometimes, Trainers like Gloria would stumble onto rare Pokemon like she had with Flapple. Elios had never blamed luck for a loss before, though he would be more than willing to admit fortune had been on his side for several of his more notable wins.

But, this… this couldn't have been luck at all.

"Twelve challengers today, and you're first!" Gloria said, then sighed. "I'm seventh. Man, it's going to be a long wait."

This reeked of Nessa's interference. When he'd battled Milo, the challengers had drawn lots to determine their order—he'd pulled the very last slot. This time, a Stadium official had walked into the waiting room with a pre-set assignment. Elios, against all odds, was first.

"It isn't as good as you think, Gloria," he said. "I won't get to watch the other battles first. Preparation is key. If you know what your opponent's strategy and team composition are, that's already half the battle won."

"Yeah, but then Nessa isn't warmed up."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Nessa doesn't need to warm up against Gym challengers."

"But you're not a normal Gym challenger," Gloria said. "You're Elios, the only Trainer she endorsed this season. That has to mean something, right?"

Elios frowned. They weren't alone in the waiting room—all the other benches had someone sitting on them at least. Several other challengers had looked up from their notebooks and were now looking at him. He cleared his throat and looked down at his own notes to avoid their stares.

Nessa would have three Pokemon: Goldeen, Arrokuda, and a Drednaw. The last two were Pokemon native only to the Galar region— it would be Elios' first time battling both. He made a mental note to spend more time fishing and surfing after this. He was sorely uneducated when it came to Galar's marine Pokemon.

He shook his head. This was no time to be getting distracted. He had a battle ahead of him, and losing focus would only lead to defeat. A loss to Nessa would be awkward, especially since he was supposed to admit he was a former Champion afterward.

Victory, however, was not completely assured.

His own team was less than ideal. Dee had no moves that were super-effective against Water-Type Pokemon. Hopefully, its speed would help it deal more damage than it took, but since Nessa's Pokemon could retreat into the water anytime they wanted, it meant Dee's opportunities to attack would be limited as well. He would need to rely on Frosmoth and Hattrem as his primary damage dealers.

The real problem was Dynamaxing. Elios bit his lip. It was such an insurmountable barrier. Last night, while looking through his plans, he'd almost scrapped the whole thing and considered slapping Grassium Z onto Hattrem, hoping that a Bloom Doom would level the playing field. Either that, or bring Charizard along as a failsafe. Nessa would likely Dynamax Drednaw, and Charizard's Solar Beam would prove invaluable against the Water-Rock Pokemon. And while he had a suspicion Charizard's appearance would only please Nessa, either option would only cheapen his victory.

He was special in Nessa's eyes. For some reason, she had chosen to endorse him, and no one else. Out of everyone, if there was one challenger Nessa had done her homework and prepared for, it was going to be him. This Gym challenge would be Nessa's personal trial to him—she had certainly read up on his previous tactics. Frosmoth's Blizzard wouldn't take her by surprise the way it had with Milo.

He sighed. His notebook was full of sketches and diagrams. A decision tree that stretched several pages wide, outlining each and every single possible scenario that could happen in the upcoming battle, as well as the optimal responses to them. The people who had seen him prepare for important battles called this level of planning overkill, but those people had never beaten him once, either.

The key to success was thorough preparation. If there was one thing being a Champion had taught him, it was that.

A Stadium official poked his head through the door. "Challenger 777, Mr. Elios? You're up."

"Good luck," Gloria said, flashing him a smile as he stood up.

He smiled back, hoping the action would calm his nerves somewhat, but it didn't. His heart thumped against his ears as he walked through the open doors, the deafening roars of the crowd and the blinding glares of the spotlights slamming into him at the same time.

He hoped he'd prepared enough.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sonia edged herself forward in her seat the moment Elios stepped onto the field. She had a front-row seat today, courtesy of Nessa.

The people around her stood up and cheered. Some of them, she realized, recognized Elios from his battle with Milo. As expected of a former Champion—already building a fan base in a completely different region.

Elios seemed completely unbothered by the terrain of the Stadium. Sonia remembered the first time she'd entered the Water Stadium during her younger days—back then, Nessa had been a fellow Challenger. The sheer amount of engineering and terraforming had stunned her. The main battle stage was a circular rock-made island surrounded by water, with two narrow paths cutting through the water that led to the Trainers' waiting rooms. Elios walked along that narrow path without giving a second glance to the miniature lakes on both sides.

If anything, the only thing bothering him was his uniform, and Sonia watched him pluck at the fabric while stifling a laugh. He was so different from Leon.

Her eyes followed Elios until he stopped across Nessa on the middle platform. And yet, despite their contrasting personalities, Elios' calm and determined expression was one Sonia had seen on Leon's face countless times. Perhaps the two were more alike than she'd initially thought.

As the Stadium commentator began announcing the start of the match, Elios and Nessa exchanged words. Sonia wished Nessa's mic was on so she could hear, but if Nessa had left it off, then obviously it was meant to be private. She leaned in closer, trying to decipher the conversation through their gestures alone.

Nessa's hand was on her hip—a sure sign she was annoyed. She was pointing at Elios' belt with her other hand. Ah, so that was why. Elios had only brought three Pokemon. Overconfident much? But then again, Sonia understood his reasons. It was just like how Leon always refused to Dynamax his Pokemon if his opponent didn't have a Dynamax band of their own.

She shook her head and sighed. If only her friend had that kind of sportsmanship. Nessa would think Elios was looking down on her, and now she'd pull all the stops to prove him wrong. As if the battle wasn't skewed enough to Nessa's advantage already. The entire stage was built to favour Nessa's team. The abundance of water around the central platform gave Water-Type Pokemon home turf advantage, and the many rocky structures would provide her Drednaw ammunition for its Rock-Type moves.

On paper, everything was against Elios. His team was only a couple months old—most people only earned their second Gym badge after their first year. Drednaw's Rock-Type gave Nessa an overwhelming advantage over Elios' Corvisquire and Frosmoth. And most importantly, Nessa could Dynamax her Pokemon, while Elios' wrists were conspicuously lacking a Dynamax Band of his own.

But this was Elios, former Champion of Alola. Being a researcher, Sonia had dug through the internet and magazines for all the information she could find on him. While his personality was far more withdrawn than Leon's, the same could not be said for his achievements.

"Let the battle begin!"

The commentator's cry and the crowd's shouts drew Sonia back into reality. Elios and Nessa were now standing at opposite ends of the platform, PokeBalls in hand. She tried picturing Elios, but four years younger, facing against the Alolan Pokemon League. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do it. She couldn't imagine a 17-year-old becoming a Champion. Other names started surfacing in her mind—Red; Brandon; Kris; Dawn—was Elios really on par with those living legends?

She rested her chin on her palm as Elios threw out his Corvisquire and Nessa fielded her Goldeen. Elios' Flying-Type Pokemon took to the air immediately, while Nessa's dove straight into the lagoon and vanished from sight. Elios was at a slight disadvantage here. Corvisquire was a physical attacker, but getting in close to the Goldeen would prove difficult.

"Goldeen, use Water Pulse!"

The horned fish popped its head out of the water just long enough to blast a jet of water toward the airborne Corvisquire. It dodged the attack by a feather's breadth. Sonia looked up at the giant monitors showing the battle. The cameras zoomed in on Elios' face. His lips curled downward as Nessa's passive strategy dawned onto him.

Nessa was making full use of her home-turf advantage. Sonia sighed. Technically, Nessa wasn't doing anything wrong. While they were limited to using a team of weaker Pokemon, Gym Leaders were given the authority to adjust their level of strategies as they saw fit—their goal was to educate challengers by highlighting flaws, after all. But Sonia only needed a brief glance at her friend's face to see Nessa was in this to win it. She'd even tied her dark hair into a ponytail instead of braiding it like normal—that was how Sonia knew she was _serious_.

_So, Mr. Champion. How will you deal with someone camping you out?_

Elios' face was unreadable. At the very least, she suspected he had a plan.

"Goldeen, Water—" Nessa called out.

"Now, Dee!" Elios didn't have a mic of his own, but Sonia was sitting close enough to hear his shout. "Brave Bird!"

Sonia blinked and, in that moment, she nearly missed it. Any notion that she'd misheard was wiped clean when the Corvisquire tucked its wings and plummeted toward the surfacing Goldeen. Within another blink, it became a blue meteor that skimmed along the water's surface, charging toward Nessa's Pokemon as a blue streak.

There would be no time for Goldeen to dive back down to safety, and the cameras were on Nessa's face at the perfect moment to catch her alarm.

"—Use Horn Attack!" she screamed, desperately changing her command.

A trade, then. It was still Nessa's loss. Brave Bird would do far more damage to Goldeen than Horn Attack would to Corvisquire. Nessa's only consolation was the recoil Corvisquire would suffer from its own attack.

Sure enough, Goldeen launched out of the water brandishing its horn at Corvisquire, and both Pokemon collided with enough force that the whole audience winced.

Goldeen sailed through the air and crashed into a wall, leaving cracks in the rocky surface. When it landed back in the water, it floated to the surface, the only signs of life being the bubbles that foamed out of its mouth.

On the other side, Corvisquire had not emerge unscathed. The bird Pokemon collapsed into a heap in front of its Trainer, and got back to its feat unsteadily. The camera zoomed in on the injured Pokemon. Goldeen's horn had left an ugly wound on one of its wings.

The crowd had gone silent. Sonia was still trying to wrap her mind around what she'd just seen. Nessa's defensive strategy had been seen through and countered in a matter of seconds—with just one move on Elios' part.

Brave Bird.

She remembered the arduous process of teaching her own Yamper Wild Charge. Powerful moves like Brave Bird and Wild Charge were some of the hardest moves to teach. Asking a Pokemon to unleash an attack so powerful it would hurt itself was more than a matter of obedience and determination. It was about training a Pokemon to overcome the biological inhibitors and self-preservation instincts hardwired into every living being.

It had taken Sonia three months to teach Yamper Wild Charge, and that was _after _she'd completed her Gym Challenge.

Brave Bird, unlike Blizzard, couldn't be taught using a Technical Machine. Elios had to have spent weeks—at the very least—teaching his Corvisquire the move. Her suspicion was confirmed when the Pokemon pulled out a Sitrus Berry hidden within its feathers and munched on it. Corvisquire's wounds and bruises healed slightly, and the Pokemon flexed its injured wing experimentally. Then it turned back to Elios and dipped its beak.

It could still fight.

Nessa's jaw dropped as she recalled Goldeen into its Pokeball. The revelation that Elios had planned this battle weeks in advance must have finally dawned onto her.

Sonia gulped as the audience woke up from its stupor and started applauding; some were calling out Elios' name fervently.

Champion-Level Trainers were really in a different league, weren't they?

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elios suppressed the knot of worry in his chest. Dee was confident in its ability to continue, so he had to trust it. For now, he was glad his preparations had come through. The month he had spent teaching Corvisquire Brave Bird was worth it. While Nessa's awareness to go for the trade had cost Dee more damage than Elios would have liked, he was now a Pokemon up over Nessa, and that was a win in his books.

His victory condition was simple. He needed to have both Frosmoth and Hattrem standing when Drednaw finally came onto the field.

Nessa was staring at him with murder in her eyes. This was supposed to be a simple Gym Challenge—a test of aptitude. Elios was certain Nessa already knew he was more than capable and deserving of the Water Badge. He repressed a sigh. He wished Nessa wouldn't take things so personally in the middle of a battle.

Nessa threw out her next Pokemon. An Arrokuda, a long and slender fish Pokemon that resembled a needle with fins and fangs, dived into the water the moment it left its PokeBall.

Now the hard part began. From here on out, it would be Elios' first time battling against these Pokemon. While he'd done his research and made ample preparations, nothing beat first-hand experience.

The Arrokuda sunk into the depths. Nessa wouldn't go for the same strategy twice, would she? Caution would be the way to go. He was a Pokemon up, and he saw no reason to lose that lead because of carelessness. Using hand signals, he instructed Dee to fly high and observe.

Nessa cracked a grin. "Aqua Jet! Aim for the left wing, Arrokuda!"

"DODGE!" he shouted, wanting to curse. He should've seen it coming. Arrokuda hadn't dove to hide, it had gone to the very bottom to gather as much momentum as it could before bursting out of the water.

Dee veered away in the air just as the Arrokuda shot out of the lagoon, propelled by a jet of water that made it nearly invisible. A loud crack rang out, then Dee's pained caw. Elios grimaced. Dee hadn't been able to dodge in time because of its injured wing; Arrokuda's maw was now firmly latched onto his Pokemon's wing, and they both spiralled back to the ground.

"A critical hit!" Elios heard the commentator cry. "Challenger Elios' Corvisquire should no longer be able to fly! Now, what will he do?"

Elios took several deep breaths. Nessa wasn't an ordinary opponent either. He couldn't expect everything to go his way. When Arrokuda released Dee and dived back into the water, the Pokemon hobbled toward him, dragging its tattered wing behind it.

Elios winced at the sight. Dee was out of the battle, and the apologetic look it gave him caused a twinge in his chest.

"It's not your fault, Dee. You did good," he said. "Now, just leave the rest to me and the others, okay?"

The Pokemon nodded, and did not resist when he recalled it back to its Pokeball. Things were still fine. He'd prepared for this as well.

"It's your turn, Frosmoth!" he said, throwing out his next Pokemon. The moth Pokemon erupted out from its Pokeball with a cry. "Use Hail!" he ordered.

Fluttering its wings and spewing snow from its mouth, Frosmoth spun to the sky. Within a few seconds, winter descended onto the Stadium. The falling snow muffled the sound of the crowd and blocked the glaring lights. The reduced visibility was in his favour—Arrokuda wouldn't be able to aim another Aqua Jet as long as Frosmoth kept good distancing.

Nessa glared at him as she started rubbing her hands together. "Elios, are you crazy? Look at how little I'm wearing!"

He'd completely forgotten Nessa's Water Gym uniform was nothing more than a swimsuit. "You can always forfeit the battle if you're afraid of the cold," he said, pulling out a pair of gloves from his jacket's pockets and slipping them on.

Nessa stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Just how prepared _are _you?"

"Very prepared," he said.

The Gym Leader rolled her eyes. "Well, you should have prepared more. Here's a tip, Elios. Ice attacks aren't very effective on Water-Type Pokemon. Arrokuda, use Fury Attack!"

The Arrokuda shot out of the water like a missile, aiming its snout right at his Pokemon.

"Frosmoth, use Freeze-Dry."

A beam of frigid air burst forth from Frosmouth's mouth and hit the Arrokuda mid-air. The fish Pokemon plummeted like a brick and dropped back into the water. A few seconds later, when it floated back up, lying on the water motionless, Elios resisted the urge to leap for joy. It worked!

"Arrokuda!" Nessa ordered, "dive back down!"

The Arrokuda stayed where it was.

"It's no use. It's frozen. You might as well call it back, Nessa. With Hail still active, it's not going to thaw out for a long, long time."

Nessa stared at him with an agape jaw, diving into the water to scoop her Pokemon out. A thin layer of ice coated the Pokemon.

"It really is frozen," Nessa said while climbing out, voice tinged with disbelief. "How… Frosmoth isn't even supposed to learn Freeze-Dry! I checked!"

Elios smiled and pointed at his Pokemon. Frosmoth parted its mouth slightly, revealing the block of Never-Melt-Ice locked between its jaws. "Looks like you're the one who didn't prepare enough, Nessa."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sonia stared at the monitor, not even registering the Hail's cold anymore. It was showing a slo-motion replay of Frosmoth's attack. That was, without a doubt, a Freeze-Dry coming out of Frosmoth's mouth—the first ever recorded instance of the Pokemon using the move.

The people around her were cheering—those people didn't understand what they'd just witnessed. All they thought was that Elios had outsmarted Nessa by using the only Ice-Type move super effective against Water-Type Pokemon.

But it wasn't just that.

Sonia herself was stunned into silence. Her eyes couldn't leave the screen. History had just been made before her. For years, Pokemon researchers and top Trainers in Galar had agreed Frosmoth was physically incapable of using Freeze-Dry. In Melony's words, the Pokemon simply lacked the capability to focus that much coldness into a beam concentrated enough to flash-freeze water. If Blizzard was like an explosion of ice, then Freeze-Dry was a narrow 'laser beam' of frost that could freeze water on contact. All research had shown that the furthest Frosmoth could go in that regard was Ice Beam, or at least, until today.

How had anyone not thought of it before? By using Never-Melt-Ice and Hail as catalysts, Frosmoth could boost its Ice-Type powers to create enough frost to use Freeze-Dry! A second later, she frowned. There had to be more. It wasn't enough to boost its powers, Elios still needed to _teach _Frosmoth Freeze-Dry. And _that_ was even harder than coming up with the Never-Melt-Ice and Hail strategy.

Pokemon were genetically coded to learn certain moves. Just like how a Charizard could learn Flamethrower almost from instinct, each Pokemon species had a set of moves that came more 'naturally' to them. Freeze-Dry was not in Frosmoth's 'Move Set'. In other words, Elios would have had to teach Frosmoth—step-by-step—the move, unless… his Alolan Ninetails! Of course. It would be far easier to have another Pokemon rather than a human as its teacher!

Genius. Now she understood how a 17-year-old could have single-handedly unravelled Team Rainbow Rocket's plans. She had been doubtful about the report at first, but after seeing his foresight and intelligence first-hand, defeating an international criminal syndicate seemed doable for someone like Elios.

For crying out loud, in order to clear a Gym Challenge a few weeks away, Elios had created Pokemon history! And worst of all, he probably thought of it as nothing more than a stepping-stone to defeat Nessa, and that irked Sonia the most.

She sighed when the camera showed Nessa again. Her friend was too frustrated by the setback to recognize the brilliance of Elios' feat.

Nessa unlatched the last Pokeball from her belt and threw it into the air. "Flood the Stadium and make it our ocean! Time to Dynamax, Drednaw!"

Red arcs of energy whipped around the air as her Drednaw ballooned in size until it took up almost a quarter of the entire arena. It crash-landed into the lagoon behind Nessa, causing water to spray all over everyone. It was gigantic, taller than the lagoon was deep, with parts of its head and its turtle-like shell forming an island of its own within the water.

Sonia gripped onto the ledge of her seat. Curiosity was killing her. Elios had pulled out one surprise after the other to overwhelm Nessa. _What trick do you have up your sleeve this time?_

He had no Dynamax Band. And while he still had one Pokemon over Nessa, Frosmoth was at an awful disadvantage against Drednaw—a single Rock-Type Attack would knock out the Ice-Bug Pokemon instantly.

She already knew Nessa's first move—her friend would first need to regain weather control to swing the battle back into her favour. She was sure Elios was aware of this as well.

"Drednaw, slam a Max Rockfall onto them!"

The Drednaw stomped its feet onto the ground. A giant slab of stone, almost as tall as the Stadium, rose from the ground, and then tumbled down like a falling domino block.

What would Elios do? The attack was far too wide—Frosmoth wouldn't be able to dodge. Would Elios go for a trade?

"Frosmoth, use Aurora Veil!"

Clever, using the last few moments of Hail to set up the defensive barrier. A green-blue mystical field surged around Frosmoth just before the Max Rockfall connected.

The earth shuddered, and a sandstorm whipped around the arena, erasing the earlier Hail.

When the dust clouds settled and the screens showed more than just a veil of sand again, it was just in time to see Elios recall his fainted Frosmoth back into its Pokeball. Sonia pursed her lips. Now, it was one versus one. Frosmoth's sacrificial move was strategic—the defence boost Aurora Veil provided would be indispensable for Elios' final Pokemon to challenge the Dynamaxed Drednaw.

The next Pokemon Elios threw out earned a rush of coos from the people around her. Sonia hummed in thought. A Hattrem. Those were hard to train—but she supposed it was a walk in the park for Elios after everything she'd seen so far.

The small pixie Pokemon did a little dance when it landed on the floor. When it gazed upon the Dynamaxed Drednaw towering over it, it raised a stubby arm and waved at it.

_Okay, that's kind of cute._

The camera zoomed in on Elios' face. Sonia thought he looked like a different person. The earlier concentration and focus was gone. Now, Elios looked almost expressionless. He opened his mouth and gave a command to his Hattrem, but Sonia couldn't hear a thing. Right—he couldn't shout anymore; keeping his emotional state level would be crucial to ensuring Hattrem's obedience.

Green tendrils of energy lurched out from the Hattrem and latched onto Drednaw like tentacles. They pulsed and tightened, and Sonia burst out laughing when she saw the globular lights flowing from Drednaw to Hattrem through them.

Giga Drain. Genius!

So _this _was Elios' master plan! He was going to stall out Drednaw's Dynamax—it had less than four minutes left. It was perfectly executed. The still-standing Aurora Veil would weaken all of Drednaw's attacks, while the super-effective Giga Drain would sap Drednaw of its energy and feed it back to Hattrem. How the tables had turned—now Elios was camping out Nessa.

As expected of a former Champion. Elios had won the battle before it'd even begun. Sonia shook her head and sighed. She should have known. After all, the man had defeated the Legendary Pokemon Necrozma as an 18-year-old.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Nessa sunk to her knees the same time Drednaw collapsed on itself and shrunk back to its normal size.

The crowd went deathly quiet.

"I… lost," she said.

Elios nodded. After patting his Hattena on the head, he recalled it back into its Pokeball. The little thing was vibrating with excitement—the potent Dynamax energy it had siphoned off from Drednaw was starting to show its effects. He made a mental note to let it frolic about later to burn off all that excess energy.

"I actually lost," Nessa continued. "Even though I had Dynamax, home turf advantage, and the better Type matchup, that wasn't enough."

Elios walked over to her and shrugged. "Like I said before, a strong Trainer can overcome things like that with proper planning and strategy. I had months to prepare for one fight. I'm guessing you couldn't have done the same for me."

Nessa nodded glumly. "I suppose there's a reason I endorsed you and no one else."

Elios went as stiff as a board when she walked up to him and pinned the Water Badge to his uniform. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

Now what?

He needed to tell her about his past as Alola's Champion, didn't he?

"Things aren't over, by the way," Nessa said.

"What?" Elios asked.

"We need to celebrate. I'm going to make a reservation at that seafood place again for tonight. You're going to explain how you beat me today, and then we're going to plan our rematch. And next time, you won't be allowed to hold back."

Elios swallowed. While the prospect of a rematch didn't sound all that inviting, dinner was a much better time and place to tell the truth than the present. And, well, if he was going to tell Nessa, then he really should tell Gloria, too. "Can Gloria come?"

Nessa gave him a look, then sighed. "I mean sure, if she beats me later, why not?"

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Oh look, Elios. You're on the news," Gloria said, showing him her phone.

He groaned. How was he supposed to have known he'd be making history by teaching Frosmoth Freeze-Dry? It wasn't even that spectacular. It wouldn't work without Never-Melt-Ice and Hail, so now everyone knew about it, it'd be much easier to counter.

Thank goodness Nessa had booked a private room. He couldn't imagine what it'd be like if all the restaurant's patrons were staring his way. He'd become an almost-celebrity in the span of a single battle—Gloria had shown him a list of Galar's trending topics on social media, and he was currently ranked 10th.

It was only a matter of time before his history was revealed to everyone. Already, he could feel his veil of anonymity slipping away. At the very least, if Gloria and Nessa were going to find out, he'd rather they find out directly from him.

"I hate my bad luck," he grumbled.

"_Your _badluck?" Gloria said. "Do I have to remind you how I _almost lost_ because you put Nessa in a bad mood for the rest of the day? She was merciless! If Flapple hadn't landed that critical hit, I would've lost for sure! Thanks to you, only three other challengers passed. That's one of the worst records, and it's all your fault."

"Well, she's treating us to a good meal now," Elios said, trying to divert the topic, "so I guess everything worked out in the end."

The mention of food brought a smile to Gloria's face. Then her stomach grumbled. "She's late."

The door to the room burst open. Nessa stumbled in, wearing an expensive-looking gown. Her hair was braided as it usually was, instead of the ponytail she'd sported in the battle earlier.

"I'm sorry!" she said, sliding into her seat. "My photoshoot ended late. At least they let me keep the gown. Looks nice, doesn't it, Elios?"

Elios blinked. He hadn't noticed it during the battle, but Nessa had changed her eyeliner. Her perfume stayed the same—she still smelled like the ocean breeze.

Gloria nudged him in the ribs. "This where you say 'yes', you dolt."

"Yes," he said.

Nessa rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Gloria. Congratulations on your win, by the way. Sorry if I was a little harsh on everyone today."

"Oh, it's not your fault," Gloria said.

Both girls looked at him. Elios stilldidn't understand why he was to blame. He'd _won_. That was what he was _supposed _to do in a Gym Challenge, wasn't it? But this wasn't the time to be thinking about such trivialities.

He was at a loss.

How was he supposed to tell the two of them he was the former Champion of Alola? Would it be too weird if he declared it without preamble? Maybe he could try to filter the conversation that way, though he had a feeling it would be weird no matter what he did.

What if they didn't believe him? He could take out his Alola Trainer Card, and maybe find a few articles online, but he didn't want to make it seem like he was bragging.

No, he needed to think of a way to broach the topic as naturally as possible. He'd spent so much time preparing for the battle he'd completely forgotten about the daunting task _after _it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the commotion outside their room.

"Ma'am, you can't go in! That's a private room, and it's occupied—"

"Don't worry, we're friends!"

The door slammed open, and a woman barged into the room.

Elios blinked at the newcomer. What was _she _doing all the way here?

"Mallow?"

"Elios!"

Mallow bounded toward him and wrapped him in a hug. As usual, her green hair was tied into two pigtails, and she was dressed in denim suspender-shorts. The smell of spices and curry clung onto her, bringing back fond memories from Lush Jungle back in Akala Island.

The girl released him and started shaking him by the shoulders. "I'm here for a food convention, but then I saw you on TV and rushed here as fast as I could! I can't believe you're here, Elios! Everyone's been worried about you! When are you coming back to Alola?"

"Erm, not a while," Elios said, when she let go of him.

Someone cleared their throat. Elios turned to see Nessa arching a lone eyebrow at him, and then shooting a look at Mallow.

"And who's this? And what's this about Alola?"

"This is Mallow," Elios said. "She was a colleague of mine in Alola."

"Colleague?" Mallow said. "What are you talking about? You were my boss! You're Nessa, the Gym Leader here, right? Did you know—"

Elios' eyes widened. "Wait!"

"—that Elios here used to be the Champion of the Alola region?"

He hadn't managed to cover her mouth in time.

Gloria's and Nessa's eyes grew as wide as saucer plates.

This was not good. Elios hated his bad luck. No amount of planning could have prepared him for _this_. _Think positive. At least now I don't have to think of a way to bring the topic up._

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: To be fair to Elios, even I didn't plan for Mallow's appearance until about a minute before it actually happened.**

**Anyway, whelp. Cat's out of the bag now. I wrote all this under the initial assumption Frosmoth could **_**actually **_**learn Freeze-Dry. When I checked and found out it couldn't, I was too lazy to think of a new tactic, and decided to take the chance to let Sonia nerd-out a bit. I think it's a pretty decent addition to the chapter.**

**Anyway, Favs, Follows, Reviews, Comments, and Likes are always appreciated. (We've hit 1k Follows on FF, which is always a nice milestone to reach) **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'm backkkk. Some stuff happened recently, as I'm sure everyone can say at some point or another during this year, which took most of my time to deal with… I can't wait to live in precedented times again.**

**Anyway, short chapter, which is the norm for this fic, in case y'all've forgotten. I prefer developing the fallout of Elios' actions over several chapters while the story progresses. We'll mainly focus on immediate consequences in this one.**

**Chapter 16:**

A frown crept onto Elios' face as Mallow scooted closer to him. Elios looked at his lobster bisque soup longingly. It would go cold if they didn't start eating soon.

"I heard curry's the big thing in Galar," Mallow said. "They say everyone here knows how to make good curry. What about you, Elios? Have you been brushing up on your curry-making skills? Maybe I'll try entering a curry contest if I have the time!"

A wave of nausea washed over him as he was forced to remember Mallow's concoctions. He smiled weakly. "Good luck with that."

Mallow slapped him on the shoulder. "Ah, you're so cold as always! I should have expected that though. I can't believe you just up and left without telling anyone! I thought you would have told Hau, at least, but he was just as clueless as we were. Lily cried! Did you know? You made Lily cry!"

He winced. He'd tried looking for Lily during his brief trip to Kanto, but he hadn't managed to find her. "I didn't want people to worry about me."

"And disappearing from the face of the Earth is your way of doing that?"

"Out of sight, out mind?" he tried.

Mallow sighed and shook her head. "Acerola was right. You're a Pokemon genius, but a human idiot."

He frowned. Anything that came out of Acerola's mouth was always a riddle, a lie, or pure nonsense.

"Why don't we try asking these two girls?" Mallow asked, gesturing to the two people sitting across the table. "Isn't Elios the worst?"

Elios didn't dare meet Gloria's and Nessa's eyes. Not that they would have noticed, anyway. They were still glued to their phones as they devoured all the information they could find on him online. He shuddered as he caught a glimpse of Team Rainbow Rocket's logo on Nessa's screen.

The Gym Leader nodded, her eyes still zipping through the article. "The absolute worst."

He turned to Gloria. She would be on his side, he was sure of it. She'd find the idea of him being a secret Champion cool, and then she'd never stop asking him for advice.

But he froze when he saw the mischievous glint in Gloria's eyes.

"Elios is human trash," Gloria said, nodding her head. "Did I tell you he once stole my Pokemon and abandoned me alone in a forest at night?"

He thought she'd gotten over that already.

Mallow's jaw dropped, and she stared at Elios with murder in her eyes.

"You, Mr. Elios, have a lot of explanation to do."

"Exactly," Nessa said, looking up from her phone for the first time in ages.

Gloria smiled brightly at him as she started on her soup. _Traitor._

Elios looked at his own portion. He could see the uppermost layer already starting to congeal.

_So this is what they mean when they say revenge is a dish best served cold._

**XxXxXxXxX**

"There'll be a rematch, of course," Nessa said, the wind whipping her hair around. Hulberry was quiet, except for the lapping waves and the cooing sea breeze.

A shiver ran up Elios' back. _It's cold_, he thought. _Why are there no stars in the sky tonight?_

"You'll use your strongest team, and I'll use my strongest team, and we'll fight each other no holds barred."

Elios sighed. Was 'no' even an option at this point? It would be bad taste to refuse, especially since Nessa was his endorser and she'd just treated them to an expensive, albeit cold, dinner. She was also his friend, and he didn't want to jeopardize that any more than he already had.

"When?" was all he asked.

"When I've finished watching all videos of your battles I can find, thought up a counterstrategy, and prepared my Pokemon accordingly," Nessa said.

She looked even more determined than she had before the Gym battle today, and Elios thought that was a bad sign. _She's never going to give up until she beats me, is she?_

"Heh," Mallow said from the side. "Just so you know, his old rival, who's the current Alolan Champion, lost to him over forty times before winning."

Nessa's grin only grew wider. "So it can be done. And if it takes me even more than that, so be it. Until then, you'd better not to lose to anyone else."

Then she left, and Elios could see her fists clenching and unclenching as she walked away.

He sunk his shoulders once she was out of sight. This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid.

"I can't believe you didn't tell them," Mallow said.

"I was going to, but then you made everything worse," he said, turning back.

There was still one more person to worry about, and Gloria looked up at him with an expectant smile.

"And you? You're not going to say you want to fight me until I lose too, are you?"

Gloria snorted. "What, you think I'm crazy? I'm not even going to try battling you for real until I finish the Gym Challenge."

"Oh," Elios said, relief seeping into his body. "Great. Let's go—"

"I want something else," she said instead, with the same mischievous glint from before.

Dread instantly replaced his relief. "What?" he dared to ask.

"A copy of your League Card—both Alolan and Galarian," she replied, now bouncing on the spot. "With personalized autographs!"

**XxXxXxXxX**

"You called, Mr. Chairman?"

Rose looked up from his phone. Oleana stood across him, dressed in her lab coat—when was she going to shake off her researcher past? The tang of freshly grinded coffee beans wafted into his nose as his eyes dropped to the stack of documents tucked under her arm.

He sighed. It was lunch hour, too. Oh well, if she didn't want to take a break, then he'd make her.

Rose paused the video he was watching, rewinded it, and then replayed it at half speed just as the near-solid beam of frost erupted from the Frosmoth's mouth.

"Have you seen this?" he asked, as the attack crashed into Nessa's Arrokuda. "A Gym Challenger managed to teach a Frosmoth Freeze-Dry."

To his surprise, Oleana nodded. "I have. A friend sent me the link."

Rose frowned. He stared at the coffee stains on her coat, then at the dark eyebags weighing down her face. _I didn't know she still had friends. Where does she find the time to meet them?_

Oleana pulled a thin file out from the stack under her arm. "I've done some tests myself. It would require a Frosmoth with particularly strong Special Attack parameters to achieve what he's done, even with Never-Melt-Ice and Hail acting as catalysts. Still, it's impressive, considering he's only a Gym Challenger on his second badge."

When she started gesturing to charts and graphs, Rose shook his head before she could launch into a lecture. "You can just leave that on my desk. I'll read it later. I'm more interested in the Trainer, Elios. Did you find anything about him?"

Oleana shook her head. She pulled out her phone and started tapping at the screen. "I can look it up now—"

"It's fine," Rose said. "It's lunch hour, and I don't think you've—"

"Oh," Oleana said. "I was mistaken."

_Oleana? Mistaken?_ _This is a rare treat._ He leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"He's not just a Gym Challenger on his second badge."

The next thing Rose knew, his vice president had stuck her phone in front of his face, and he found himself staring at a newspaper headline. There was a photograph of a teen with long hair and a slackened posture standing in front of a massive set of steel doors. A blizzard raged on in the back.

"Inaugural Champion of Alola Crowned!" read the headline.

_He looks a lot like Elios,_ Rose thought.

Oleana pulled her phone away and continued scrolling. "It seems this Elios is the former Alolan Champion. Hmm… I can't find anything that explains what he's doing all the way here in Galar."

Rose blinked. Former Champion?

"Oleana, you're joking, right?"

Oleana tilted her head at him. "Why would I joke about this?"

"So, the former Champion of Alola has been here for the past half-year, and _nobody _told me? I learned about Hoenn's Champion visiting a whole week before he arrived!"

"From what I'm reading on the discussion boards, no one else knew he was here either. It seems he disappeared around a year ago, and the Gym Challenge is his first public appearance since. It's gotten people excited, both in Galar and Alola."

Rose stood up. "I want to meet him."

The former Champion of Alola right under his nose, and he hadn't known. He had so many questions for Elios about the Ultra Wormholes and the power they brought. Could the mysterious energy behind Z-Moves power up cities the way Dynamax Energy could?

"Your schedule's a little full, Chairman. I can arrange a meeting for next month…"

"Postpone or cancel anything you can so I can meet him this week."

Oleana's lips dipped into a frown. "I suppose the visit to the hospital can wait, then."

"Oh, and Oleana?"

"Yes, Chairman?"

"Get Leon on the line, please."

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: Hopefully, I can have frequent updates again. Crown Tundra is finally out, and Dynamax Adventures is a lot more fun than I thought it would be (RNG hates me tho… zero shinies even though I've done over 40 runs, sighz.)**

**On the even brighter side, Pokemon has announced there'll be (at least) another episode of Twilight Wings! Looking super forward to that! Maybe it'll have something to do with the DLCs? More character development is always a good thing. I wished they did stuff like this in the games.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Short chapter, still slowly going through the impacts of Elios' big reveal.**

**Chapter 17:**

Charizard, Charizard, Charizard.

What was it with Champions and Charizards?

Everyone knew about Red's Legendary Charizard, and she'd seen the Kalos Champion, Serena, Mega-Evolve hers, during a tournament overseas.

By now, she'd battled against Leon's Charizard so many times she was certain it recognized her entire team.

"Bea, are you even listening?"

Bea looked up. Her friends, Amy and Veronica stared at her, concern written all over their faces. The other two girls had almost finished eating, so she looked back down to the table, where her sandwich lay untouched.

She shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, I zoned out for a while. What were you guys talking about?"

"The Alolan Champion, of course! He's all over the news!"

Her smile dropped. Elios _was_ all over the news. In fact, she'd nearly tripped over her feet when she'd walked past her television yesterday and seen his face plastered across the screen.

Amy turned to Veronica and squeaked, "did you see the video of him rescuing that drowning man in Hulberry? He has a _Charizard_!"

Bea grabbed her sandwich and sunk her teeth into it. What was so special about that fire-breathing, lizard Pokemon, anyway? It wasn't particularly fast or strong, and it had an extreme weakness against Rock-Type moves. There were plenty of better Fire-Type Pokemon. Like Blaziken. Now _that _was a Pokemon Bea wouldn't mind training.

"I've watched it five times!" Veronica squealed back. "He's cute, isn't he? I heard he's only a few years older than us! Isn't that amazing? Bea, he became Champion the same age you became Gym Leader!"

Bea put down her food. _"I know."_

By this point, she could confidently say she knew Elios' life story. She knew about his encounters with the Legendaries and the Ultra Beasts. She'd read, with shaking hands, about his dangerous battle against Team Rainbow Rocket. Then she'd gone and watched the replay of his battle against the former Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, in Alola's Battle Tree; he'd won, naturally.

Bea slumped in her seat. Maybe she shouldn't have gone to university. She would have had more time to train if she didn't have to worry about Gym Leader duties _and_ academics. She bet Elios hadn't gone to university. Leon probably hadn't, either.

No wonder Elios hadn't called her back. After losing to Leon, she'd been looking forward to another practice session with him. But he probably hadn't thought the same—there was nothing for him to gain, was there?

She sighed. The top of the mountain had never looked further away.

"Bea."

She blinked. Veronica was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Bea, you're zoning out again."

"Sorry," she said. "What were we talking about?"

Amy grabbed her by the arm and shook her excitedly. "We were just wondering if you could beat him. Do you think you can, Bea? I don't know what Trainers are like in Alola, but you were so close to beating Leon the last time, we thought you might have a chance against Elios!"

Bea stared at her grinning friends. In a way, their faith in her was heartwarming. Amy and Veronica had only just started getting into competitive Pokemon Battling after joining the Trainer's Club in university. They were still so many things they didn't know, and the gap between an ordinary person and someone like Elios was just one of them.

But as she'd learned from her short exchange with Elios, she still had plenty of things she didn't know, either.

"No," she said, smiling. "I can't win against Elios. Not yet, at least."

Elios might have been a one-in-a-million prodigy, but if there was one thing Bea believed in, it was that hard work could overcome anything.

Besides, given Elios' current progress in his Gym Challenge, she was sure she'd be seeing him soon again. She couldn't let the opportunity to battle against someone like him slip through her fingers.

_You better watch out, Elios_. _The Fighting-Type Gym Challenge isn't going to be as easy as you think it'll be._

**XxXxXxXxX**

Allister was glad. He was really, really glad that he'd been chosen for Wild Area duty this season.

It was misty in the Ruins today. The mist clung to him like a damp, second layer of skin, but Allister liked it. It made him feel warm, though with the sky starting to get dark, he should get to setting up camp and making a fire soon. The setting Sun peeked through the broken windows of a ruined watchtower, and Allister let what little light shine on him as he lay down on the grass. His back hit something hard.

A tombstone, though it was so old and weathered the writing on it wasn't even discernable anymore.

"There's nobody around, right?" he asked.

His Gengar drifted into view and shook its head. The Ghost-Type Pokemon floated to the top of the tombstone he was using as a backrest and perched its stubby legs on its top. Just to be safe, Allister gave his surroundings one last look before taking off his mask and resting it on his lap. The air tasted sweet today.

"Can you imagine if I had to fight that Champion guy?" he said.

Gengar made a confused noise.

"There's no way I could do it. I'd die of embarrassment! Remember? He saved our butts against the Gigantamax Snorlax!"

Gengar nodded and grunted.

"What's a guy like him doing all the way here, anyway?" Allister said. "Isn't Alola... really far away?"

This time Gengar had no response. Allister stared at his Pokemon, who stared blankly back. After a few seconds, it shrugged.

"You're right," he said. "Maybe he just likes peace and quiet too."

Allister took out his phone and looked at it. It was an old model, and didn't have the Rotom functionality that was all the rage these days. There was a message from his mother, and that was it. He'd give it another hour. If there weren't any emergencies and nobody needed his help by then, he'd set up camp.

"You know," he said, turning back to Gengar. "I'm kind of glad we found out Elios was a former Champion."

Gengar tilted its head back at him.

"I mean, when he helped us back then with the Gigantamax Snorlax, I felt really lousy about myself. But now I know it was a former Champion and not some ordinary Trainer who lent us a hand, it makes me feel a lot better."

Gengar made a face and stuck out its tongue.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, Gengar. We'll get there too, one day."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Mallow stared at the little green Pokemon. She'd never seen such a tiny Dragon-Type Pokemon before.

"And you say if I feed a Tart Apple to an Applin, it will involve into a Flapple?"

Gloria, the girl Elios was training, nodded—Mallow still couldn't believe _Elios_ of all people had taken a student.

"That's right. But you have to wait for the Applin to finish eating through its original apple, then you can evolve it."

Mallow quickly added two things to her to-do list before returning to Alola.

_1\. Find an Applin._

_2\. Find a Tart Apple._

How hard could it be?

Now, if Elios could hurry up and finish his battle—

"He's not going to lose, is he?" Gloria asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.

Mallow turned back to the clearing in front of them.

Elios' Corvisquire collapsed to the ground with a thud. There was a visible wince as he recalled the fainted Pokemon back to its Pokeball.

She flicked her gaze to his opponent, a white-uniformed Trainer with sunglasses and a triumphant grin. The Beartic next to him roared.

She looked at Gloria. The girl was hunched forward, her hand fingers digging into the dirt as she watched Elios throw out his Frosmoth—his last Pokemon.

"Oh, he's absolutely going to lose," she told Gloria.

"But... he's a former Champion!"

"Yeah, and he's using a rookie team. All the strategy in the world won't be enough if your opponent is an Elite Trainer who's been training his team for a decade. You can't cut steel with a wooden axe."

On cue, a Rock Slide from the Trainer's Beartic sent Elios' Frosmoth into a tailspin toward the ground.

"See what I mean?" Mallow said. "His Frosmoth's just too slow. Nothing he could have done would have helped it avoid the attack."

"But Elios can beat him! He just needs to take out his real team and—"

"He won't," Mallow said, firmly. "He'll accept the loss."

Gloria pouted. "Why?"

Mallow shrugged. "That's just who he is, I guess. If he said he's not going to bring out his real team, he won't. He doesn't care enough about winning to go against his word."

Gloria stared at Elios, pulling her legs closer to her body and hugging them. "I could never do something like that. I hate losing."

Mallow smiled. "Don't worry. Elios hates losing, too. More than anyone I know, to be honest. But he's still going to lose this."

True enough, when Frosmoth fainted a minute later, Elios thanked the Elite Trainer, who looked caught between confusion and triumph.

Mallow shrugged as he walked back toward them with a scowl. If someone told her she'd just watched the former Alola Champion in battle, she wouldn't have believed it either.

"You didn't think you could win with _that _team, did you?" she asked, as Elios brushed past.

"No," he said. "But I didn't think I would get destroyed so easily. I liked it better when nobody recognized me and I didn't have Trainers challenging me to a battle out of the blue."

"You could have just said no," she reminded him.

Elios gave her an odd look. "And miss out a chance to give my team battle experience?"

Mallow rolled her eyes. She'd been worried for nothing: Elios hadn't changed in the slightest.

"What now?" Gloria asked, carrying her backpack, which was almost big as she was.

"Now we go to the Pokemon Center to heal my team. Then I'm going to give them agility training."

Training? Now? Mallow looked up; the moon was already starting to rise.

She looked at him. "Elios, I don't know if I need to ask this, but... you're not trying to become the Galar Champion, are you?"

He looked terrified just at the thought of it. "What? Not at all. What gave you that idea?"

She fixed him a look. "I mean, you're basically training as hard as you were during your Island Challenge—and I know because you were breaking records in Alola back then, too."

"What kind of records?" Gloria piped up. "Did he—"

"I'm not trying to be Champion here," Elios said, firmly.

Mallow blinked. "Then what _are _you trying to do here?"

She still didn't know why Elios was all the way in Galar in the first place.

Elios smiled, and a chill ran up Mallow's spine. _When was the last time he looked this happy in Alola?_

"I'm here to have an adventure."

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: I've more or less decided how I'm going to incorporate the DLCs into this fic (assuming I ever get that far). Anyway, this chapter marks the end of what I suppose is the introductory arc of this fic. I'll have Mallow stick around for one or two more chapters before she has to go back, I think her interacting with Gloria holds a lot of promise. **


End file.
